Lawson Photography

2010-02-07T22:58:00.002-06:00

These two little ones make my - heart - happy.

They make the tough times more than bearable, and the good times complete bliss!

I look at them with a thankful heart every day.

When my house is upside down... and very noisy... I wouldn't change it for the world.

Created by my Heavenly Father from a love like no other....

they are my little miracle blessings.

I know....

2010-02-05T13:07:00.002-06:00

I know, I know... it's been a LONG LONG time! But... I'm barely staying afloat with work and family (not to mention friends, church, etc. kinda stuff), so the blog has just not been a priority! I have TONS and TONS of pictures of clients and my own two little ones over the last two months, but I just haven't found the time to get here and post them! Lots are on Facebook if you're on there, so you an check them out there! In the meantime... I'll leave you with these two sweet little loveable baby boys sending some love... they are my world!!

Here you go, Michele! :)

2009-11-18T14:26:00.003-06:00

Cream Cheese Crescent Dessert

2 pkgs. crescent rolls
2 pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
2 tsp. cinnamon

Press 1 package of crescent rolls on bottom and sides of a 9" x 13" pan.
Mix together, cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer and pour over the top of crescent rolls in pan.
Flatten the 2nd package of crescent rolls and place over cream cheese mixture in pan.
Mix together cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar and pour over the top of the crescent rolls in pan.
Melt butter and pour over the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Bake at 350°F for 1/2 hour.

FYI... I didn't have any vanilla, so Saturday's batch didn't contain any! :) Nobody knew!!

A YUMMY Recipe!

2009-11-17T11:31:00.003-06:00

Now that the "get togethers" are rolling in this time of year, I have recipes on the mind!! Here's one that I brought to Jared's Granny's birthday party this past Saturday and like always was a hit! Don't think about the ingredients... just make it and try it... you won't regret it! Seriously... many of you can't think about what's in it!!! You just have to mix it and try it!

Corn Salad

2 cans whole kernel sweet yellow corn, DRAINED
1/2 yellow(sweet) onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 small bag of Real Bacon Bacon bits
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup mayonaise
1 container of fresh grape tomatoes, chopped
1 bag chilli cheese corn chips

Trust me... try it...

Here's what to do!

Drain the corn and pour into mixing bowl. Add the onion, bellpepper, bacon, cheese, mayo and tomatoe and mix well. Keep chilled til ready to serve. Right before serving stir in the corn chips (If you're making way in advance, add the bacon and tomato last minute too). ENJOY.... then go back for seconds... I did! :)

Special Young Lady!

2009-10-21T15:03:00.005-05:00

Meet Scarlet! I first met her when she sat in my classroom as a SEVENTH grader... not really loving math, but doing a fantastic job for me! I had the privilege of teaching her again when she was in 9th grade as well! I just love this young lady, and she reminds me so much of myself (maybe that's why I love her)... she'll do anything for you, but she'll tell you like it is in a heartbeat! :) It's now been five years since Scarlet sat in my classroom as I feisty little seventh grader, and she has grown into such a gorgeous young lady! Congratulations, Scarlet! And, best wishes toward a successful, ridiculously happy life ahead!! :)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go!

2009-09-30T23:37:00.004-05:00

Well... this week has started my "official" week back at work... although I can't say I ever stopped! I've been placing orders since I was put on bed rest until now, and have been doing sessions (sporadically) since Reid was 2 1/2ish weeks old! BUT... it's official! I have REAL sessions back on the books from now til December! SO... who better than to kick off my week back than with my first official client, Miss Reese! You've seen her all over my blog and website! I started taking her pictures when she was an itty bitty new baby!

Here is a peek at her 3 year pics (we won't get caught up on the fact that she's 3 1/2 now, but I was on bed rest at her birthday... then I had Reid... then her Mommy went and had her a baby brother)! :)

Thanks Reese for always being SO precious for me!

P.S. What better to add to the mix of going back to work... a 4 year old with the stomach bug! It's been a long 24 hours, and we're hoping he's on the mend and that the "buck stops there"!!

Maclain turns FOUR!!

2009-09-11T23:51:00.005-05:00

On September 1st, my sweet little man turned 4! I have been so incredibly blessed with him! He amazes me everyday with his heart, kindness, and love. He keeps me laughing and loving more and more each day!

I love you dearly Maclain, and am so proud to be your Mommy!

I'm such a loser!!

2009-09-11T23:30:00.005-05:00

So, I knew life with 2 kiddos would be a little busier. But I never thought I'd let my blog get so far behind!! Anyway... here is an update of our busy lives

We (Jared) is having a yard sale tomorrow.

We are doing "Dave Ramsey"... and one of us is enjoying it (hint found in the above bullet)

I have two weeks left in my official maternity leave... although I've never fully been on one!

Maclain has been CRUDDY sick for a week and now has double ear infections and asthmatic wheezing. Reid had double ear infections a few weeks ago!!

My nice strong fingernails I grew during pregnancy now are growing out fragile and thin like normal... literally like a quarter of an inch from my cuticle is way thinner than the rest! That amazes me!

Maclain is saving his money for a cool power rangers costume that's reversible.

Did I say we were doing Dave Ramsey?

Reid is having a good 5ish hour stretch and has gone up to 7 at night!!

My sweet little Reid is THREE months old today! Makes me tear up at the thought of how fast it's going!!

AND... what you mostly want... recent pictures! :)

Hopefully I'll stay a tad more up to date on the HILARIOUS stuff that goes on here!! If I don't blog about it I forget it!

My Sweet BIG Boy!!!

2009-08-25T15:22:00.002-05:00

Maclain turns FOUR on the 1st and as I'm working to prepare for the party on Saturday, I wanted to stop and share his party invite. I am SO thankful I have the ability to create my babys' invites and birthday cakes (pics to come after I make it)!! I enjoy it so much!!

Can you guess what kind of party he is having?? :)

Introducing....

2009-08-02T22:40:00.004-05:00

HAHA!! Okay... SO, I've already introduced Reid, but after seeing his announcement on Jared's Aunt Joy's blog I realized I never posted it here! I sent these out when he was almost 3 weeks old, and he's now 7... so I'm just a TAD behind! So, here it is! :)

By the way... I have definitely done marathon posts these past few days!! AND... I'm going to be loading up the cutest birthday invite I did for Maclain soon too! For now, we have GOT to put the Wii down and go to bed! :)

FRONT!

Back!

"Let's Go Down by the River..."

2009-07-31T20:12:00.009-05:00

Okay, so it's a creek, but when I was trying to figure out a title for this post, that is the song that came to mind (from Oh Brother Where Art Though).

A Little background info here... my family is fairly musically inclined! In fact we have a band together! That's right... we have a band! :) Last Saturday we had a little gig at a local "music barn" and they were putting up fliers for advertising, so we got together for a little updated picture to go along with it. The name of our band is Cotaco Creek (the creek that runs along side my parent's house... where I grew up). SO, where else should we get our picture taken than Cotaco Creek!? My answer... ANYWHERE ELSE that DOES NOT have CHIGGERS!!!!!!

SO... here is our band picture, along with some pictures of my men as we were all unknowingly picking up those chiggers that were awaiting their feast!!

The itty bittiest man!

Okay... I HAD to put this in. They all THREE have the same face!! HAHA! :)

Now... that's better!

Sweet, Sweet stuff!

All real men carry a burp cloth in their pocket, right?

Digging for more things to throw in the water!

"You're so funny, Daddy"!

Demonstrating the "cheesy grin" yet again!

Strike a pose!

Found something else to throw in the water... he did a lot of that!

It's now been about 3 weeks since that trip... and I still have a few spots where the chiggers were, but at least the incessant itching is finally gone!! NOT a fun experience!!

Now... make sure you read the posts below... I was playing catch up tonight!

A few random pictures of the "Biggie"!

2009-07-31T18:35:00.007-05:00

Here are a few random pictures of Reid... pretty much in reverse order, because, frankly... I hate how blogger uploads pictures!! I know I'm FOREVER behind in blogging... but, frankly between lack of sleep, chasing Maclain, holding Reid (he REALLY likes that), and going to every free kiddo activity I can cram in for Maclain this summer we have gone 90 to nothing! Reid usually does pretty good on the go, and Maclain USUALLY minds well, so we do lots of outings! Reid is 7 weeks now, and I have TONS of funny stories over these last 7 weeks. EVENTUALLY I'll get back to blogging about them all!

For now... here's an updated look at our newest bundle of sweetness and joy!!

Here's Reid (blue) with his buddy Whitt for a little play date! Okay... so it was more for their Mommy's and their big siblings, but as you can tell, they were doing something they enjoy as well! (By the way... I called Reid, Maclain in this description above and Whitt's Mommy just called and told me. MAN do I have mommy brain!! The description is fixed now, but I had to let you know the humor that transpired)!

Top view of Whitt and Reid!

Close up... I could just eat him up!!

Checking out the outfit that matches from head to toe... that doesn't happen very often!

Here's our first attempt for a nap in his actual bed (crib). It ended with Reid in my arms napping peacefully! :)

Again... I could just eat him up!!

His FIRST bottle!! He was a little less than 6 weeks old. He acted like it was no big deal, then nursed again about 2 1/2 hours later like nothing ever happened! :)

Just precious!!

Half grin... double chin!

Looks a tad laid back!

Visit to the Park!

2009-07-31T18:29:00.003-05:00

Only July 2nd, Jared came home from work and it was such a beautiful afternoon we decided to run by KFC to grab some dinner (Chicken bucket as Jared calls it) for a picnic at the park. Of course Maclain was beside himself excited with the spontaneous change of plans... and well, Reid... he never knew what was even happening! :)

Here's Maclain playing... and... Reid, well, sleeping! :)

Fourth of July! (very late)

2009-07-31T17:58:00.006-05:00

For the fourth of July this year, we had our annual block party! This year we were in our neighbor's back yard (meaning we didn't have to get ours ready for company)!!! We did our traditional grilling, and firework show... the only thing different this year (beside the addition of Reid of course), I had a bummed hand! YEP... I was getting grits out of the microwave right after the timer buzzed that morning (I should NOT do things in a hurry), and spilled them all over my hand! I was in PAIN!! I even took one of my pain meds from my c-section, and I didn't even need them from the surgery!!! Anyway, I was such a baby... or maybe it really did just hurt that bad!! Regardless, I am now healed, and it's a sheer memory!

By that night, my hand no longer felt like it was on fire, and we had a blast as usual! Here are a few images from the afternoon!

Maclain playing with his church budy Lilly, and his favorite puppy dog, Grace. Side story here: One afternoon while I was still pregnant, he came in from playing with our neighbor's little girl, and their dog (Grace), and he said "I REALLY wish I could have a dog like Brianna!" I said, "But you're fixing to have a brand new baby brother... wouldn't you rather have a baby brother?" And his answer.... "No, I'd rather have a dog!" SORRY REID... maybe he's changed his mind now!

Checking out the world on the day that he was originaly expected to enter it!

Now he's just checking out PawPaw... or maybe just the back of his eyelids!

LOVE their shirts!! Jared thinks I'm going to do this to them forever! :) I love having two boys!!

Reid's Newborn Session!

2009-06-23T22:08:00.005-05:00

I FINALLY got Reid into the studio for some REAL pictures! :) It's SO much different with your own!! Several times over the last few days I've thought, "Maybe I'll just call and book a session somewhere"! :) BUT... now that I finally had the energy, and BOTH boys were clean and ready, I'm SO thankful I have a full studio at my disposal at any time! Here are a few of them... you can see the rest at http://www.lawsongallery.com/. Click to enter site, then clients, and the password is reid1.

Rounding out the first week!

2009-06-19T11:16:00.003-05:00

Reid has now enjoyed his first week of life with us.. and boy have we enjoyed it as well!! Other than my pesky spinal headache that was fixed by a blood patch yesterday, it's been pretty smooth sailing! We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO blessed!!

Here are a few pictures over the last few days!

Given the headaches... and the "taking it easy" after the blood patch... I still don't have studio pictures. I can't wait though!!

Introducing Reid Alexander!

2009-06-16T08:51:00.004-05:00

SO... if you don't have facebook (where we gave a play by play of delivery and constantly posted pictures over the last few days because we can do it all from our blackberries), you're probably wondering why it's taking so long for ME to post pictures! :) I'm sorry for the delay, but HERE they are!! I can not thank my family, friends, and wonderful clients for all of the support not only over the last few days, but these last few months! I am SO blessed!!

Reid Alexander was born June 11, 2009 at 1:31 p.m. He weighed 8 lb. 3 oz. and was 19.5 inches long! BIG baby for less than a 37 weeker!! I won't go into all the details of the CRAZY week that preceded the event, but it ended in a pretty quick delivery by c-section!! NOT what I wanted, but by the time the Dr. called it, I was just plain ol' ready!!!! Me and Reid have both done great (although c-section one NOT be my first choice of delivery, my recovery really has been fairly easy)! Reid is currently strapped to a bili light because of jaundice! We really hope that ends soon, but he's still really yellow this morning, so we'll probably have at least one more day! We took him off the light twice last night while the storms blew through, so we lost a couple of hours... but I wasn't going to risk it!

OKAY OKAY... on to the pictures!

First time to hold Reid!

Exactly how Maclain used to sleep!

Big Brother warmly welcomes Reid home!

So precious!

Now that's "no drop" insurance!

Nightly "snuggle time"... Maclain no longer wants our snuggles... just Reid's!

Mommy's Men!

There were several more that I wanted to post from the last few days, but didn't want to overload my blog!! If you want to see the rest from our "first 4 days" go to www.lawsongallery.com, click to enter site, then click on clients in the right hand corner. The password is reid1. I'll let you know when I swap them out for new ones! :) I can't wait to be able to walk up the stairs so I can get my newest little man in studio! You'll see those asap!!

Loving lifes blessings....

Nascar Slip and Slide!!

2009-05-30T11:57:00.005-05:00

Jared explaining how to do it, and Maclain responding "Daddy, I don't think I can do that!"

Ready to go now!

Picking his car!! He went back and forth from all 3!

"Mama... I won the piston cup!!!!" :) He would run and jump and only make it a few feet. He refused help to get the rest of the way, and would instead scoot and push his way to the "finish line" just like Lightning McQueen on "Cars" when he gets a flat tire at the end of the races and hops to the finish line! He LOVES acting out movie scenes!!

LOVING IT!

"Mama, look at this funny thing... it has eyes"! :)

Make sure you see the posts below... this was catch-up day for blogging!!

AND... Update: The baby is still doing okay, but my bp not so much! It's staying pretty high now! SO...I'm pretty restricted to just laying and doing NOTHING!!!! Hence the time to catch up on the computer! :) I am 35 weeks today, so I'm super thankful to have made it this far! If we can make it just 1 more week, we're less likely to spend time in the NICU, and if we can make it 2 more weeks that risk goes WAY down!!!!!! Just sitting (laying) tight for now!

Dirt Time!

2009-05-30T11:16:00.004-05:00

SOO.... most of you guys know we started the building process about a year ago, and one of the biggest hold ups before we decided was the outrageous cost of the lots out here! Granted, they are larger than a lot of subdivisions, and typically the builder does a great job in the development. SOMETHING went awry with our lot however, and it appears there is no such thing as drainage!!! So, considering the amount of rain we have had the past few months, our sod is just NOT taking, and we pretty much have little ponds ALL over the front and back yard! VERY irritating... and Jared handles it much better than I do. Okay... I won't go any further with my irritation!

Well, in an attempt to "fix" the yard that was supposed to be "move in ready" for us, we hauled in a load of sand/dirt mixture and rented some equipment to spread it. Of course, I'm observing all of this while laying on the couch, but at least maybe we are on the slow track to getting our yard fixed!

And.... since we have a huge pile of very sandy dirt in our yard now, where do you think Maclain has been ALLLL day... literally for hours now!!?? That's right, digging away! He helped Daddy for about 2 minutes shoveling dirt into the equipment, but then took a break... permanently! :) I took these pics about 15 minutes into his play time thinking he'd get bored of it soon. Well... you should see him now! Caked on dirt from head to toe! Who needs sunscreen now??

I HATE the yard situation, but it's so fun to see Maclain having such a blast!

AWANA Ceremony!

2009-05-30T10:08:00.003-05:00

I'm a few weeks late on this one, but I still wanted to share!!

For the past 2 years, Maclain has been a "Puggles" in the Awana program at church. Next year he will be a cubby, and he's so excited to be in there with "Mrs. Pauwa" (Paula)! :)

Look at how "proper" he looks here!! Looks like we have one well behaved little man on our hands! :)

Reciting his memory verse "God made everything"! All the kiddos kind of yelled it rather than recited it... if you couldn't tell by looking at Maclain's face!! :)

Here he's getting his end of the year present!

AND.... in true kiddo form, immediately digs in! :)

We are so blessed to have Awana at our church.... and for everyone that helps make it all happen!

End of the Year Program

2009-05-28T21:07:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Maclain at his end of the year program at Mother's Day Out! We were SOOO proud of him! He's come a long way from crying on stage at church the Christmas before last!

By the way... he practiced and practiced and practiced his "George Washington" song! He was READY to go and so excited leading up to this night!

Yes, I was there! I definitely put this into the category of one of those "special events" the Dr. was talking about! :) Not only was it AWESOME to be out and about, but it's just incredible to see your child performing on stage!

"I pledge allegiance, to the flag..."

"GEORGE WASHINGTON, GEORGE WASHINGTON, HE WAS A GREAT GRAND MAN..." Zoie's not real sure about his singing here! She's our neighbor and Maclain's friend!

Everyone with their horses singing "Yankee Doodle"! :) So cute!

Subliminal Messaging!

2009-05-27T08:36:00.002-05:00

This morning, Maclain was standing in front of our shower with the solid see through glass door. He could see his reflection (which he knows what it is and LOVES to talk about seeing his reflection every time he finds it)! Anyway, he was dancing around and singing a little something made up (Just like his Daddy does). And... when he decided to make sure I was aware of the reflection he found, he said:

"Mama.... look at my perfection!"

Now that's a little insight if I say so myself! :)

P.S. I'm still contracting every few minutes around the clock... most of them a little uncomfortable, some on the side of painful... but I'm still only 1 cm dilated, but now I'm 50% thinned. I will be heading back to the Dr. Friday for another non stress test (which yesterday turned into a stress test because the baby wasn't awake and moving, but having contractions every 3 minutes, they were able to determine how well he was doing through the contractions instead)!

Baby Update!

2009-05-21T15:49:00.002-05:00

I will be 34 weeks on Saturday, and so far ALL test done to check how well the baby is doing have come back GREAT! He is growing... quite quickly... at every visit! Our hope is to make it at least 2 more weeks, but ideally would make it at least 3!

Since Sunday I have been having contractions... sporadically, but day in day out!!! I've only had a few that felt "real"... the memory of that pain sure came rushing back to me when I first felt it again! But, for the most part, the majority of them are just uncomfortable, and a few have almost been unnoticed other than the obvious rock hard tummy!

As of Monday, there was no need to worry, but today they went ahead and checked to make sure I wasn't "progressing" because of the contractions!! I am 1 cm dilated, but nothing else! I'm not "thinned" at all, and the baby is still plenty high up! So, she gave me some meds that I can take for the contractions on an as needed basis! And... it happens to often be used for blood pressure, so we can't go wrong there!!! Also... she said the dilation could possibly be just because this is my second pregnancy and nothing to do with the contractions, and they'll just keep on monitoring me!

Thankfully, I am ONLY showing the pre-eclampsia sign of high blood pressure, and no other symptoms, SO I am only considered to have pregnancy hypertension!! My bp is still staying below normal while "resting" which is GREAT as well! SO... we are still just trucking right along, and if I can ward off these contractions for 2-3 more weeks, we should have smooth sailing... wait... then comes LABOR!!! WOW... it's getting close!!!!!

By the way... I am exactly 2 weeks in my pregnancy from when I had Maclain!! AND... I am currently have contractions every 6 minutes!! CRAZY!

Reid's Room is FINISHED!

2009-05-16T14:23:00.006-05:00

Well... for now at least! There are things I plan to do once the baby is here to put in there (pictures, hand/footprints, etc.). BUT, for now, it is ready for Mr. Reid Alexander!

Here are some pictures of the "finished" product!

Looking in from the doorway!

Reid's bed, ready for his snugly self!

I got these from a super talented lady out of Huntsville! I just sent her pics of the bedding and told her the restrictions we had (Jared had a few requests to make sure they weren't girly). Anyway, I got them in the mail in record time!! She does tons of other custom work as well! Her website with some samples and pricing is http://www.laughytaffydesigns.com/. You've gotta check her out!!

Little jungle animals waiting for the newest little monkey!

Another picture of the bedding!

Here's one of his window valences... and bamboo blinds! What matches better with jungle animals!? :)

Here's both windows with the maternity collage in between.

Here's a close-up of the picture, with our wall wording! :) -LOVE wall wording!! I had to take the pic at a weird angle because of the glare! AND... the pictures not even behind glass!!

Here's his changing table, hamper... and part of his car seat! :)

A close-up from the decor above his changing table!

And this is just incredible to me!! While we were putting up the wall wording this morning, Maclain was taking the backing paper and protective paper, and kept saying he was making his name. Poor little guy... we were completely ignoring him, and had no idea what he was "pretending" to do! When we got finished he was asking for more paper, and I looked and he already had the M, a, c, and l completed!! Jared jumped in and helped him finish the rest!! It was JUST incredible to me! Kids are SO smart!

NOW... just a few more weeks away, and we will be bringing baby Reid home to his new room, and excited parents and big brother!! We are so blessed!

Cake Anyone?

2009-05-15T11:24:00.004-05:00

Alot of you know I used to decorate cakes.... birthday, showers, wedding, you name it! Well, I still get calls now and then for an order, but I just don't even come close to having time to do them anymore! I even almost ordered my own child's birthday cake last year, but just couldn't do it! WELL... NOW... no longer do I just have to say "no" to people, I can say, "no... but I know someone who can!" :) My sweet sister-in-law Kim (you know Liam who you see on here periodically... it's his mommy) is working from home now that her little man is here... and growing fast! She has taken the same classes I did, and does an AWESOME job! Not to mention... the yummy incredible taste! :)

Here are a few of the cakes she has done!

For your next event's cake/cupcake needs, let me know and I'll pass along her info!!

Now I want some cake!! :)

3 Year Old Prayer Time!

2009-05-05T10:34:00.003-05:00

In the last week or so, Maclain has been turning into a big boy with his prayer time! He wants to pray like Daddy, and actually does a pretty good job at it! If he's eating a meal by himself for any reason, you'll even catch him bowing his head and saying his blessing without any prompting before the first bite! BUT... up until this point, prayer time was a little... hmmm... entertaining should I say?! It's definitely been a learning process so far for our little man!

Before I head to the funny part of all of this, I must add, at preschool everyday they say the traditional "God is great, God is good,... " prayer before they eat lunch!

Until this past week, for about a month or so ALL prayers went a little like this:

"God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our Spaghetti. By his hands we all are fed. Thank you lord for daily bread. Amen"
"God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our Bed. By his hands we all are fed. Thank you lord for daily bread. Amen" (said at bedtime obviously)

So, as you can see... that is not only a traditional mealtime prayer, but it can be a very universal prayer to be used for ANY occasion! :) We are happy to see him finally branching out this week though! :)

At least he's praying! :) Unfortunately, that's more than some of us can say on certain days!!

Easter... Mega Post!

2009-04-24T10:17:00.009-05:00

So, I'm a tad behind! :)

Here are several of the festivities that took place throughout Easter. I was there for part of it, and my sweet hubby documented the rest of it in pictures for me!

The first set here is from Easter Morning!

The Easter bunny brought Maclain a pirate costume! :)

Dressed and ready to go to church! One pic with the "easy smile", and the other the "cheesy grin" you get when you tell him to smile!

This set came from our Spring Festival at church! They had a "jump and dance" (inflatable jumping thing), mechanical swings, the inflatable jousting thing, egg hunt, and lots of food!! I went there for a couple of hours and LOVED being out!

This is just as the swing begins moving!

Waiting patiently for the swing to start!

FINALLY... some of the kids filtered out of the "jump and dance" and Maclain wasn't so scared to get in!

Checking out the loot from the Easter Eggs he just found!

More loot!

waiting for the egg hunt to get started! Can you tell we were right in the middle of eating when they called for the egg hunt to start! :)

The next set is our community Easter Egg hunt. I couldn't make it to this one, so Jared took pictures for me (THANK YOU)!

This was right after all the eggs were found. Time to run the bases! :)

Best Buddy, Price!

I have a feeling they were talking about something that might would get them in trouble! Looks like Maclain was the ring leader!!

After Maclain found Price, I think they pretty much stuck together!

Getting ready for the egg hunt!

I found one!!

Right After Maclain and Price found one another... PRICELESS!! :)

I hope you're all doing great!! We're still hanging in there! Everything is still the same, and I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow!! Just a FEW more weeks before we are in a MUCH safer zone as far as the baby is concerned!! BUT, I'm just thankful we've made it this far! Getting tired of the confines of the house, but it's well worth it! Orders and custom designed orders are actually keeping me busy! I haven't had a single day of nothing to do yet! I'm thankful!!!

Have a great weekend!

Storms!!

2009-04-23T20:38:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pics from a recent storm! Just this past Sunday we had a tornado touch down just a few miles from here that killed one man... and the crazy thing... they had JUST lifted the tornado warning for our county!!

On a cute note: Maclain calls tornados, comados (come-aid-oes)! :)

Here's a pic as the storm is moving in. This is looking directly into where it was coming from.

And... here comes the hale! This was the day there were tornados everywhere, and softball size hale reported in parts of AL.

This was after it passed (which only took minutes). Notice the wind was blowing SO hard that the rain was going sideways... and only wet one side of the trees! CRAZY!

P.S. If you click on this last picture and make it big, you'll see where Jared shot ALL of our trees with a paintball gun (trying out the borrowed gun, getting ready for the youth outing with church). He said "don't worry... the rain will wash it off"!!! WELL... we've had TONS of flooding rain since this, and, it's STILL there!!

"M-A-C-L-A-I-N"

2009-04-17T15:44:00.003-05:00

Speaks for itself! :)

Baby Update!

2009-04-16T16:12:00.006-05:00

I went to the Dr. this morning, and all things considered, got a good report!! My blood pressure is still up, but not anything dangerous at this point, and no other intervention needed other than the "rest that is working"! There is still only trace amounts of protein in my urine, and no glucose!!! :) That's a great sign at this point that things aren't to the point that they got with Maclain... BUT, I'm just now entering into the gestational age I was with Maclain when I really started having complications! We'll see what the next few weeks bring!!

The best part of today... we had another ultrasound! :) I get them every 4 weeks now! I'll be 29 weeks Saturday, so as long as things continue as is, I will have 2 more before the baby is here! Here are some pics (of the ultrasound... and my round self)!

The first image here, Little Lawson has his head turned half way looking at us! I labeled the facial parts, so you can get your barrings, then look at the second image with out the lines and texts so you get a good look at our adorable little one! :)

The image below here is a profile pic! :)

AND... here is what that 3 lb. 13 oz. baby looks like on a 5 ft. 2 in. Mommy!!!! Very ROUND! :)

We are getting SOOOOOO excited!!!! Now we just have to decide on a name!!! Here is our latest narrowed down list! Maddox, Isaac, Isaiah, Reid, Cale, Grant or Tye. Maddox is my favorite name, but it just doesn't feel like I'm carrying a Maddox?!?! I'm thinking Reid, but Jared can't make up his mind, and probably won't til the baby is here!!

Updates to follow! Glad to finally be getting back to blogging!! I've been placing orders here lately which is a way slower process than if I was 100% so I actually just haven't had time to update! I have some adorable Easter stuff I have to post soon though!

Cowboy Clain!

2009-04-15T20:03:00.004-05:00

I have tons to post about... it's just been hard lately!! I will post some recent events and some Easter stuff soon! For now, I'm still on modified bed rest, but my swelling and my blood pressure has been doing pretty good... so it's working to postpone any other complications at this time! I go back to the Dr. tomorrow (weekly rotations) and we'll see what the labs say! So far, they haven't worsened, and I'm on week FOUR of bed rest!

SO... For this post! My sister-in-law called me and asked if there was any way we could get pictures of Maclain in his cowboy get up on a white back drop! Knowing this would only take 5 minutes, and with the great help of Jared, I snapped a few! They are going to be used in some kind of Ad in a program (I think) for her boss! I'm always up for my little model to be published!! He knows how to work it in front of the camera!

He was SUCH a trooper and did whatever we asked! How did I get so blessed??? Wait... we haven't met baby number 2's personality yet... I might should knock on wood! :)

Cool Moves!! :)

2009-04-02T18:32:00.006-05:00

Here are some video clips of my belly where you can see the baby bumping around! :)

This one has lots of little quick kicks on the left/middle side of my belly. You'll see several quick kicks, then nothing, then several more, etc.! Don't worry if you have trouble seeing this one... the second video is way more obvious!

This one shows a leg or an arm, or noggin, or something swipe across the right side of my belly! You'll see it move from the middle of my belly to the side in a "swipe"! Those are the coolest movements!! You can even see him "hang out" on the side... notice the lump that stays on my right side! This one is a really quick video!

What else is there to do on bed rest than video my belly!! :)

I had a Dr.'s appointment today, and everything is still the same... which in my case is great! There's NO likelihood of it getting better, so we can only hope it doesn't get worse! And, so far... bed rest seems to be working!! Thanks for all the awesome prayers!!

Dance a Jig!

2009-03-30T20:41:00.009-05:00

Many of you know Maclain quite well, and unlike me, he is NOT one to get on a stage and perform in front of a crowd!! He's always been more of a "behind the scenes" kinda guy! WELL, while we were at Playhouse Disney Live last Friday (one of my last outings for a while), one of the actors came down during intermission and started talking to Maclain. Being his usual self, he buried his face in my shoulder and wanted me to do the talking. We finally got him to interact a bit, and the lady asked if he wanted to come up on stage and show everyone how to do the "Hot Diggity Dog" dance! He said yes, and then looked at me, motioned, and said "come on"! I said, "No baby, you go and Mommy will take your picture... it's okay!" SO... a little hesitant, he went with the sweet lady. She took him over to the side and for several minutes went over the dance moves and what was going to happen. The whole time Jared and I sat watching and discussing, "should we tell her she should probably pick somebody else??" We had already prepared ourselves to go grab him off stage when he "flipped out" and started crying! MUCH to our surprise... this is how he did!!!!

We did see just a moment of hesitation when he looked out at the crowd, but it didn't take long for the "Mommy" to come out in him and try to hog the spot light! However... I must say, the dance moves came from Daddy!! :)

P.S. No... I'm not up doing the Hot Diggity Dog dance, I'm just zoomed way in with our little point and shoot camera, and laughing, so it's a shaky video!!

Got any good books?

2009-03-26T11:58:00.002-05:00

WELL... I typing this while laying on the couch, because I am now on a modified bed rest! I can get up to potty and pop some food in the microwave! I'm supposed to get help with Maclain, but am allowed to get in the floor and play with him now and then as long as my blood pressure isn't too high. I also got an okay to take Maclain to Playhouse Disney tomorrow, and hopefully, if nothing changes, I'll make it to the baby shower the church is throwing for us next Sunday!! Other than those select things, I am to be laying down!! Simply put, my blood pressure is up while sitting up or on my feet, and down when I'm laying down, so it's just a no brainer!! There is no other intervention at this time since laying down brings my blood pressure down, but I am now on a weekly rotation with the OB to try and catch it quickly if anything changes!! She said I could make it to 36 weeks just like this, or things could worsen in just a couple of weeks! I'm now only 25 weeks, so I have at least 11 or so weeks left to make it to a time frame of not having a scary delivery!! SO... on to the prayers! Please pray that my blood pressure will not worsen, that the trace protein that is now in my urine (protein in the urine means your kidneys aren't functioning as well) will not worsen, and that this little man stays in my tummy for at least another 11 weeks!! I have 14 weeks and 2 days before my due date! That's THREE months early!!!! We can't have this baby yet... just can't!

Anyways... my days will now be spent on the couch with the tv, laptop, and maybe a book or magazine!! :( It's well worth it, but just tough with a 3 year old, and a house that's growing dust by the minute!

The weirdest thing!

2009-03-23T22:24:00.004-05:00

Okay... FIRST, if you don't want to see bare belly... look no further! These pictures freaked Jared out so I had to put that disclosure in there!!

When I was about 7 months pregnant with Maclain I was getting up in the middle of the night to go potty. As I've done my whole life, I simply used my tummy muscles to raise out of bed before my feet hit the floor! BUT, this time, something went WAY different. It was not painful, but a very very weird feeling!! It felt as though some one had unzipped something in my belly from bottom to top... that's truly how it felt! It was as if my tummy was held tightly in by something that was closed with a zipper, and someone had "unzipped" it! There was no true pain involved, just a very weird feeling!! I asked my Dr. about it to make sure that was okay (the next day of course... not in the middle of the night), and he said it was simply "diastasis recti"... a separation of the muscles! It was nothing to fear pregnancy wise, but down the road could lead to back problems (with the lack of muscle control in the tummy), and I'd never have a six pack again! Granted... at this point, I was about 6 years past the last six pack I ever displayed on my body, but it was a little disheartening to find out that real sit-ups were no longer really an option!! He said when I was finished having babies I might consider surgically having it put back together!

SO... instead of having muscles that stretch across my belly at all times, I will always have a little gap between the left and right main muscles that run the length of my belly. When I'm not pregnant, I only really notice the lack of tummy muscle control, but can't visually notice it. HOWEVER... when I'm pregnant (as I first noticed with Maclain), the bigger my tummy grows, the bigger the gap is between the left and right muscle! Standing up right or laying flat (and not using any real tummy muscles), my belly is about as round as can be while pregnant! BUT, when I'm going from reclining back, or laying down, and trying to use my stomach muscles to raise up, you see the very obvious gap!

I should have taken pictures before now... it was quite neat looking when the gap was only about 2 in. apart. BUT, it seems to be growing every single day so before my muscles rest completely on my left and right sides and my belly is just "round"... HERE is what happens when your muscles separate!!!!

Don't worry... the muscles themselves did not tear... just the lining stuff that used to connect them! AND... ignore the chicken pox and surgery scares, and the connect the dot moles! You can even see the brown "pregnancy line" starting to appear too!

Alright... this is my "normal" HUGE round belly in complete resting position. Notice the "roundness"!!!! You can't really see where my muscles are, but if you were to feel, you'd feel the "softness" in the middle of my belly, and the firmness where the muscles start! You can ALMOST see a flattening right in the center that runs across 2-3 inches, but you have to look close.

THIS is the result of "diastasis recti"! Notice the tell tell "bulge" in the middle when I try to raise my head up off the pillow!

Completely Crazy, huh??

Where did it go???

2009-03-21T22:00:00.002-05:00

My voice that is!! I was sick Wednesday and Thursday with either allergies or a head cold kind of stuff! I noticed it settling in my chest yesterday. WELL... I had a tad too much sweet tea while out with the girls last night and the caffeine (which I NEVER have now) sent me in talking overload... seriously. I know, those of you who know me well think it had nothing to do with the caffeine! Anyways... this has proven to be a very bad combination!! I was VERY hoarse this morning. Now, there is very little sound coming out!!

I don't handle being silent very well... this one is tough!!

Baby Boy Will be Sleeping In...

2009-03-19T11:09:00.002-05:00

We just got this ordered yesterday. We've been looking forever it feels like for furniture, and finally made our minds up! We couldn't afford all three pieces, so right now we only have the bed and the changer/dresser, but we hope to invest in the tall dresser once I'm back to work after the baby is here! We should have them in 7-14 days!! I can't wait to get Mr. Man's bedding in there, and start on his room while I'm still on my feet!! After this week I will no longer be working! After about 30 minutes on my feet, my swelling looks like I've been on my feet all day, and my blood pressure is up. It all gets better once I get off my feet... SO... I'm staying off my feet as much as possible! I'm not feeling nuts yet, but I'm not on complete bed rest either!! Last time, that did a number on my emotions!!

Anyways... I am SOOOO excited about getting our furniture in soon so I can get some things squared away with the nursery! And, Maclain has asked us a million times about putting "Sammy's" bed up so we can put his new blankets in it! :) He's SO excited! Everyday, he talks more and more about the baby and how glad he is to have a baby!! I'm SO blessed!

"Den-she"

2009-03-18T15:54:00.003-05:00

Maclain said the FUNNIEST thing last night! My Mom, Dad, Jared, me and Maclain all packed up in the car to head to the funeral home in Birmingham! On the way home, Maclain was deliriously tired, and was talking 90 to nothing trying to stay awake!! Jared decided to tell some jokes which we all laughed at, so Maclain took his own turn! After saying "joke" and giggling over and over about 5 times... thinking that was cute in his delirious mind... I decided to change things up for everyone's sake! I said "Let's tell funny stories"! My mom quickly came up with an idea. She said, "I don't think I heard the whole story about when Mommy rescued the little dog" (I know you MUST remember the story of the dog I rescued/stole back in February). Maclain quickly started adding his own parts of that story, and how he loved dogs, and my Mom said "Mommy got really muddy from the puppy dog didn't she?" Okay... being from the south her WHOLE life (such as I), she said this statement in true southern form. Just read it to yourself in your own mind. When you said "didn't she", you don't say "Did-NT-she", do you?? You kinda slur that phrase together, right?? Come on, admit it!! SO... when my mom said that, it came out sounding more as "den-she", just like many of us southerners do by combining words and syllables into little compound phrases! NOBODY (but Maclain) thought a single thing about what she said, and was waiting for Malcain to agree! Instead, Maclain looked at Meemaw kind of confused, and in his very "questioning" voice, he said "Meemaw, what's a "Den-shee"!

You may have had to have been there, but all I have to say with my big pregnant self is I'm glad I went to pee pee RIGHT before we got back on the road!!! I laughed SO hard!!!!

Talk about Newbie!! :)

2009-03-17T15:21:00.004-05:00

WELCOME TO THE WORLD AMIDY COLE!!

Remember my dear dear friend, Heather! The one that had her first son at 27 weeks... then started having regular contractions with Amidy at 22 weeks??? Ever since Heather's been taking meds to stop the contractions, and they obviously worked!!! She was given the okay to stop them at 36 weeks (last Thursday), and it sure didn't take long before Amidy made her debut! She came this morning on St. Patrick's Day weighing in at a plump little 7lb. 2oz, and 20 inches long! She is SO perfect!! I only got to see her for a minute, but can't WAIT to get my hands on her to snuggle!!

Congratulations Wilder Family!!!!

Another Newbie! :)

2009-03-17T08:38:00.003-05:00

This adorable little guy was such a trooper!! He was less than 2 weeks old, which means, he simply slept! Just the way I like my newborns! He pretty much let us do whatever we wanted... and he even held his pee pee in until we laid him on his own things that Mommy and Daddy brought! (Thanks Luke!) :) And boy, did he soak that basket of blankets!!

Again... Baby Luke has left me anxiously awaiting my own little one who is currently doing somersaults in my belly!

Email Issues!!

2009-03-16T18:34:00.002-05:00

Just in case you guys have tried to contact me since Friday at my lawsongallery.com email address... I didn't get it! I still get my att account emails, so I didn't realized I hadn't gotten ANY emails from my work account until I realized I wasn't getting my Facebook notifications! HA! :) ANYWAY... if you did email me without a response (this includes contact messages from the site's contact page), please try until you get a response, or just give me a call!

SO sorry for the inconvenience!

Baby Boy will be sleeping on...

2009-03-12T18:04:00.005-05:00

We went to the doctor for our 24 week ultrasound today! Still a baby boy!!! He is doing great! I, however, am starting to show some signs of complications! Still mild at this point, but I just have to watch my salt, and rest as much as possible!! I did have to do my sugar test today... which is earlier than my first pregnancy, but I guess they are trying to catch things before they get bad!! I am now on a two week rotation to try and catch things early!! HOPEFULLY I can hold this little guy in until he can come out eating and breathing with NO help!!! That's my goal!!

Me and Maclain stopped by Burlington on the way home, because they had the bedding I loved on sale!!!! SO... here are some pictures of the comforter that came with the bedding set! I added some close ups so you can see the details! Cute, huh??

My ADORABLE nephew!!

2009-03-10T21:01:00.002-05:00

I was able to watch my little nephew again for a bit, and of course I had to get a few pics of him! This is the only one I've edited.... because I CAN'T get caught up with work stuff! BUT, for now I had to share this one! He is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!!!

LOVE the new prop!

2009-03-09T23:27:00.002-05:00

This sweet baby girl has been coming to me since she was a newbie, and I'm SO excited to start this process with her baby brother soon... who might very well already made his entrance into the world!! If he's anything like her, he too will bring so many blessings to each session... and just be a breeze to work with!

I bought this adorable little couch back in January, and finally got the perfect little client and outfit to test it out on! I tried to put Maclain on it for some test shots when it came in, but a little boy in camo, just didn't do it any justice!! :) I LOVE this couch!! And, doesn't this little cutie just bring the best out in it!!??

I'm getting SO excited!!

2009-03-08T19:49:00.003-05:00

I've had a couple of newborn sessions this past week.... and more to come! Here are pictures from the first one! He was SO incredibly adorable, and it makes me SO excited about meeting my little man in a few months! Aren't newborn pictures the BEST! That incredible time goes by SO quickly, and those amazing little features fill out and change at the blink of an eye! I love it when moms are able to make sure this time is captured forever!!

Welcome to the world little Casen! You've got a great Mommy and Daddy that know how amazing you are!

Gorgeous Little Guy!

2009-03-05T11:56:00.002-06:00

This little man had to travel a while to come see me, and I'm so glad he did!! It took him a few minutes to warm up to the idea of the whole session idea, but once he realized it was all about him, he turned on the charm!! He is SUCH a handsome little guy, and I'm so glad I got to meet him and his great mom!!

Maggie is Graduating!!

2009-03-03T21:59:00.004-06:00

I taught Maggie my very first full year of teaching! I only have 1 year of kiddos left that I taught before they are all graduated!! It makes me so sad! BUT, I am so incredibly proud of so many of them, Maggie being at the top of that list! She was always so incredibly responsible, and such a joy in class! She is definitely going to be one to change the world in such a positive way! Go get 'em Maggie!! Congratulations!

Finally... a little snow!!

2009-03-01T12:24:00.004-06:00

We FINALLY got enough snow to create a few snowballs, and a miniature snow man!! We bundled up and headed out early this morning! Now... it's ALL gone! :(

Watching a snowball headed to him!

Getting ready to throw a snow ball!

See the circle... he just got pegged with a snow ball!

Running after Pawpaw with a snowball ready to throw!

Ready to play!!

Snow angel time (Thanks Noggin for teaching us how to make snow angels)!

Jared's attempt at a snow man!

First thrown snow ball!

Trying to catch a little on the tongue!

Waiting on mom and dad to bundle up!

(yes these pictures are out of order... but I always get everything SO messed up when I start moving stuff around)!

Gorgeous Eyes!

2009-02-20T09:41:00.002-06:00

This sweet baby girl came in for her 18 month session last week, and she was all girl! It's so funny how boys and girls are different! Little boys at this age are more interested in exploring, but they're also pretty okay with "going with the flow"! Little girls on the other hand... you have to make them believe that everything they are doing is completely their idea, and you had no part in it! It's SO much fun watching their little personalities!! This sweet baby came through like a champ... even through a few questionable moments! HA! :) Just look at these amazing eyes, and a face that looks oh so innocent!

Reese is having a baby BROTHER!

2009-02-19T08:54:00.003-06:00

One of my best friends, Courtney... whom we vacation with in the summers... is only about a week behind me in her pregnancy (another one of those blessings God gave me to share). She just found out Monday that she is having a baby boy!!! She was kind of hoping for a boy, but was thinking she was going to hear "girl"!!! I think it's taken a while to soak in that she is going to have herself a SWEET BABY BOY, but she is SO excited!! We had already arranged Reese and Maclain's marriage in the future, and were planning the same if she was going to have another girl with my baby boy... but we've decided instead they can just be the best man in each other's wedding!! :) I cannot wait to meet this precious little one... and of course take his picture! :)

Congratulations, big sister Reese!

P.S. Considering we are both due in early to mid July, we're skipping the beach trip this year!!! We hope to have some mountain pictures to share in the fall though!! :)

Sweet Sawyer Turns ONE

2009-02-12T20:56:00.002-06:00

Here's another one of my cutie pies that I've photographed since he was a newborn! Each time he's been such a sweetheart! Of course now that he's walking and getting around so well, this session was a tad more... hmmm... exciting! :) BUT, as always, I think I captured at least some of that incredible sweetness! Don't you just want to cuddle him up??

Wisdom of a 3 Year Old!

2009-02-10T08:58:00.002-06:00

This is absolutely astonishing.... although Maclain has no idea, and it's pure coincidental! It still cracks me up and floors me every time I think about it! This is a conversation between Maclain and Jared last night, and I'm pulling the text from Jared's Facebook page.

"While watching the Presidential News Conference tonight, I started thinking of all the things I needed to be doing rather than watch TV; then, it crossed my mind how in times past, people all across the country would sit quietly gathered around a radio, just to hear what the leader of our country had to say. So, I felt it important to inform Maclain of who was on TV, and how it was important to listen and pay attention... I tell Maclain to come sit with me and watch the President talk, to which he responded, "Who?" I repeat again... "the President is talking," to which Maclain asked "which one?" Well, of course there's only one, right? So, I simply reply "the President of the United States of America" (knowing good and well he would have no clue what I was meaning by that). He got a look on his face of intrigue, but confusion, and while partially squinting one eye, responded... "hmm.... that's gonna be expensive!"Little does he know how right he was!"

Sweet Landon!

2009-02-09T18:24:00.003-06:00

This has GOT to be the best smile ever!

I started taking Landon's big brother's pictures when he was 9 months old. I've always had to do a good bit of chasing to catch big brother, but since I started taking Landon's pictures he's proved to be one easy baby! He is perfectly content to just hang out and smile for me! And, boy do I enjoy hanging out with him and his Mommy! I'm so glad she brings her sweet boys to me!

Here are a few of my favorites of Landon... can you tell I had a hard time picking??

Time for another laugh - at me!

2009-02-09T09:09:00.003-06:00

I am behind 4 sessions in editing and fixing to start another one... but I had to share this!

SO, most of you know it takes a lot to embarrass me, and believe it or not, this doesn't either, so I'll share!

Saturday night, I asked Jared, "Think it's okay to use sunless tanners while you're pregnant" (I actually said "selfless tanners", but caught myself and laughed, then corrected myself... and that's not the funny part)! He pretty much rolled his eyes wondering what difference it makes... I'm pregnant, it's not like I'm going to be showing skin any time soon!! BUT, the reason I was asking, it was 70 degrees outside, I'm already SO hot now, and I was thinking about church in the morning. The thought of putting on panty hose with temps in the 60's and 70's just felt too hot for me. BUT, my legs are so white I knew I couldn't go without them!

ANYWAYS... Sunday morning rolls around, and as Jared was in the shower (we have a glass door on it), I walked out of our closet with a black tank top under a purple dress... no panty hose yet, or shoes. You could see like ONE square inch of this tank top at the V neck line of the dress, and that was all! As I walked past the shower and asked Jared if the dressed looked okay (however, this was like the 3rd thing I'd tried on), his comment was "Looks good, but do you think you should wear a white tank top since you're wearing white panty hose?"

REMEMBER... I said "I wasn't wearing any panty hose yet at this point"!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll pause for laughs.......

Now, one MIGHT think he was joking considering our conversation the night before, but as soon as I corrected him letting him know that was just MY WHITE LEGS, instead of hearing "I was joking", he said "well it's just the texture of your legs... did you just shave". I said "Nice Try!!", that was followed by another excuse... "It's foggy in here"... Wait Jared... didn't you just see the SQUARE INCH of tank top that almost blends with my dark purple dress, AND, notice my legs were nicely shaven and smooth???? YEAH right, it's too foggy in there to really see!!! So, I pretty much followed up by a "might as well just drop it at this point"!!!!

OH ME...

So, anyone know??? Think I can use sunless tanners!?!?

FYI... I left the house with black panty hose, and black shoes (as originally intended), and almost had to start fanning myself in the choir loft while singing because I was breaking out in a sweat!!!!!!!!!!!

Only Me!!

2009-02-04T21:05:00.004-06:00

I would say I'll make this short... but not sure I can!

Monday morning, it rained and poured, and was cold!! A friend's little boy in the neighborhood wasn't feeling well so I brought some things over to them. On the way, we passed a little hound dog that appeared as though he had "gotten out", but I didn't think much of it, and he didn't have a collar. On my way back I passed my next door neighbor (who owns a dachshund that I've only seen once and it was in the dark... because it's never out)! I waved politely at my neighbor and proceeded to my house. As I was pulling in my driveway I saw the hound dog and my neighbors dachshund running down the driveway. I first thought maybe it wouldn't run away since it never gets out, but he and that little hound quickly joined forces! They immediately took off toward the older part of the subdivision. I almost panicked thinking, I can't let my neighbor's pet run away while I watch. SO, I got on the phone and started trying to track down her cell number (knowing no one else was at her home that time of day). I talked with my other next door neighbor who said she would catch her (which took another few phone calls I hear), and I told her to let the owner know I would follow the dog so it wouldn't be lost. We jumped back in the car (Maclain was in pj's a jacket and cowboy boots) and we took off toward the old part of the subdivision. When I realized the dog wasn't slowing down I pulled over and got out to just get it... WET, STINKY, and COVERED IN MUD! I wasn't sure it would come to me, but it did so I put it in the car with me (and Maclain SO thought the dog was ours at this point)!!! The dog was SOOOO muddy from trucking through our empty muddy lots in the new part of the subdivision and was just rolling and jumping all over me (and shivering like it was scared too). I drove home and sat on the front porch with this wet, stinky, muddy dog... as it continued to jump all over me (are you gathering I'm not too much of a dog person... they're okay, just don't HAVE to have one)! After several minutes, the other next door neighbor that I called just happened to be pulling up from grocery shopping, and she knows the owners, and their dog a bit better. She walked over to check on us, and said "That's not Chloe"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My response: "I STOLE A DOG?????" "A WET, STINKY, MUDDY DOG???" "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THIS DOG"??? There were no tags, and I didn't have a CLUE of who it belonged to!!! I certainly didn't want it, although by this time, Maclain was claiming it as his own!! SO... my only thought was to bring it back to the hound dog where I had just picked it up!!! After all, I had just stolen a dog, stuck it in the car and DROVE it somewhere else!! It sure wouldn't be able to find it's way home now!!! So, back IN the car with the wet, stinky, muddy dog (still shivering and a tad scared, but I guess we can all understand why, NOW)!!! I found the hound dog about two houses down from where I had picked the dachshund up. SO, I parked, walked him over to the hound dog and let him go. They reunited like they were brothers that hadn't seen each other in years. So, I'm thinking maybe they were running together to begin with, and I had just not noticed him when I first got out!!! They ran off with wagging tales having a good old time. I stood in the road covered in mud from my face to my shoes... LITERALLY! It was even in my hair!!! To make it ALL worse, I got in the car, and there was Maclain with tears streaming down his cheek because I had just let HIS dog get away!!!! OH ME!!!

Later that day, my sweet neighbor (the dog owner) called to thank me for the attempt to save her doggie that was warm and cozy in her house!! Apparently Chloe is all brown, and well, a girl.... and the dog I STOLE was mostly black, and NOT a Chloe!!!! Guess I should have gotten to know them more... or at least the dog!!!!

Just another day in my life! How do I get myself into these things??

We are having a......

2009-02-02T21:34:00.003-06:00

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right!!! Maclain is going to have a baby brother... although he doesn't seem to really care! :)

I have an AWESOME friend with connections, and she set me up an ultrasound ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! That is THE best birthday present anyone could EVER give me!!! No one and nothing will ever top that... you can still do presents though... that's not what I was getting at!! :)

We are SOOOO excited, and a little thankful for the lack of financial strain in the clothing budget that is ahead!!! :) That really had me worried, because everyone kept saying it was going to be a girl! HA!! :)

Now onto the fun stuff...picking out a name and all the nursery stuff!!! There was a time in my life I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that again, so I'm going to soak it ALL up!!

Happy Birthday Wishes....

2009-02-02T10:25:00.004-06:00

TO ME!! :)

As of 1:00am this morning, I am officially 29! It only takes me a split second to look back at my 29 years to know HOW blessed I am and thankful I am for all that God has provided me, and all that he has pulled me through!!! I am not worthy, but forever grateful!

Thank you to all my friends and family who have already sent me lots of birthday wishes!!! I love you all, and am so thankful and blessed to know each and every one of you!!

Now... on to the celebration!!! :)

Update

2009-01-31T14:36:00.002-06:00

It is so heartbreaking to report, but the little two year old girl, Tuesday, I posted about yesterday has passed away. I can't even imagine what her family is going through. Please be in prayer for them all through the seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years of pain they will be experiencing ahead.

Very Important, Urgent Prayer Request!!

2009-01-30T17:27:00.002-06:00

I ran across this story from a friend's blog. Tuesday is a precious little two year old baby girl who has cancer. The tumor doubled after a week, and is resistant to the treatment she was receiving. The dr.'s have sent her home to just spend with her family in the very little time she has left. She has two big brothers, her twin sister and two loving parents. They ALL have to be hurting more than I can even come close to understanding! It's very possible that it is God's will to take this little one from this earth, and if that happens, this family will need so many prayers to survive through it. I also love the fact that God is still in the miracle business, and that may just be what is in store for little Tuesday! Either way Tuesday and her family need so many prayer from all of us prayer warriors!! Please start now, and keep her in the forefront of your prayers for as long as the need be (I'm talking to myself here too of course)! All of you moms out there... just put yourself in that mom's shoes for a split second, and you'll immediately want to devote yourself to prayer for them all!

Follow her story here (the first post alone will have you on your knees in prayer, and thankful for all your blessings). http://half12.blogspot.com/

If nothing else, just please say a prayer!!

Babies EVERYWHERE!!

2009-01-30T16:39:00.003-06:00

I had spent over two years watching lady after lady, and what felt like EVERYONE I knew having babies when I couldn't get pregnant! I kept seeing my friends having babies and sharing the experience together. WELL... God has His plan, and boy does He know how to implement it just right!! There are so many reasons why now is so much better than any time before that we are finally expecting! Although I had tried hard during that time to stay positive, and never resentful, I had my moments in that department!! BUT, not only has God provided us our second little miracle, he's also giving me the chance to experience it with two very close friends (not to mention TONS of other ladies in my life right now)! Here is one of those close friends!

Heather has always been the backbone of most all of my friend's relationship. We're always SO glad to have her on our side! :) If Heather can't get the tough stuff taken care of, no one can. Example... we all went to the movies last weekend and when we found a group of ladies sitting in our reserved seats, she took care of it for us! :) Although she's our "tough one", she is SO deserving of her own little miracle! I won't get into the tear jerking details, and the last 14-15 years of ups and downs in her life, but Heather has time after time proven her strength and has made it through so much coming out more beautiful inside each time... the outside beauty is a given!

Here is Heather and her sweet family! While you're looking, say a prayer for Miss Amidy Cole awaiting inside.... it appears as though she's anxious to make her debut, but really needs to bake in her oven at least a couple more months!!!

Hang in there Amidy!!!! We can't wait to meet you, but like we had to do with big brother, we don't want to do that in the NICU!!!

SUCH a Doll!!

2009-01-29T23:58:00.003-06:00

I simply couldn't narrow my favorites down to any less than this!!! This precious baby girl is not only a little miracle, but proves herself to be an angel every single time I photograph her! I LOVE to see her name on the books, because I know what a special blessing she is going to add to my day!

Usually babies at this age give me a run for my money. Although she showed a little more personality than she ever has, she amazed me at how easy it was to capture all of that sweetness!!

Thanks Mom and Dad for trusting me with these important memories!!

POOD-IN!

2009-01-28T21:48:00.004-06:00

This is how I found Maclain when I got home from choir practice tonight!!! I said "WHAT did Daddy give you???" In his sweet little "why are you asking face/tone" he said "POOD-IN" (pudding)!

Guess tonight requires two sets of pj's!

Abbie's One!

2009-01-23T14:13:00.002-06:00

I started taking pictures of this little one when she first made her debut! She's been nothing but smiles and sweetness ever since!

Happy Birthday, Abbie! I'm enjoying watching you grow!

Same Category!

2009-01-19T22:05:00.004-06:00

These two little guys don't even know each other, but I'm putting their posts together! WHY?!? They DEFINITELY fit into the same category of clients! Their ages are 1, and 2. This typically means a tough job for me! BUT, I've been photographing one of these guys since they were born, and the other since very shortly after birth!! And, I must say, I have YET to have a tough session with either of them! Yes, they are much more active and mobile now, but are SO easy to get to smile, and so easy to bribe! :) They have truly been two of my easiest and most fun clients to work with! They are SUCH sweethearts, and I hope to photograph them both all the way up to their weddings... then their kiddos too! :)

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY and HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY!!! :)

Baby Update!

2009-01-16T08:41:00.003-06:00

Yes... I'm like 5 sessions behind in posting... but this is more exciting!!! :)

I went for my 16 week check-up yesterday!! (I will be 16 weeks tomorrow) The baby's heart rate was 153. I am now just a few pounds from my starting weight... because until the last few weeks I've slowly lost weight. I am now a bottomless pit, so I'm afraid I may grow quite quickly!! Everything they test for routinely was fine yesterday! I am still about 4 weeks from where I starting complications with Maclain, so we'll see!!

Maclain has nicknamed the baby Sammie! Cute, right!!?? This was a BIG improvement from the name "Frog" he had picked!!! Well... so I thought! Yesterday, he called the baby Sammie Starfish... so it hit me... he obviously got this name from something! Upon further questioning, Sammie Starfish is Oswald's friend (a cartoon)! So, there you go! I'm carrying Sammie Starfish... but we call him/her Sammie for short!!! :)

I know these pictures are a pitiful excuse for a photographer's pictures!!! BUT, I have NO idea where my tripod is, which means I can't really finagle my big camera to work for self portraits in the mirror... so I had to use the cheapo... and without a flash, with really weird lighting in the bathroom... for me SELF PORTRAIT! :) But... you get the idea!! I'm growing quickly! My uterus is right at my belly button as of yesterday... which means no belly button soon!

After my appointment I ran to Burlington Coat Factory for some home decor stuff, and they have a great baby depot. Walking around and looking at everything got me SOOOOOO excited... the most excited I think I've been with all the worry that has clouded my excitement for SO many weeks)! Now, I just need to know boy or girl and we can start with the really fun stuff!!!

How did I get so blessed???

Pierce is turning ONE!

2009-01-10T17:55:00.002-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted sessions. I have several you haven't seen, but it looks like I just need to start from here or I'll never catch up! SO... starting this week, I'm back to work full time from the holidays, so where better to start than with this little guy!

You've all met Pierce before... I just know you have to remember his adorable face! Well I had the privilege of hanging out with his wonderful family yesterday while we captured his sweet little birthday pictures!!! Here's the birthday invite sample I just finished!

When no one's watching!

2009-01-09T10:59:00.004-06:00

Just another little story of how the step stool came to Maclain's aid!

(You may want to click on the picture to enlarge it so that you can read the captions better)

Conversations from Maclain's bedroom!

2009-01-07T22:46:00.003-06:00

This is the THIRD night in a row that Maclain is procrastinating going to sleep! Here is the conversation that took place between him and Jared (Clain in his bedroom laying down, Jared in the living room on the couch).

M: “Hey, Daddy”
J: “Yes, buddy”
M: “I need strawmerry milk” (a.k.a strawberry milk)
J: “No, buddy, it’s nighttime”
M: “Hey, Daddy”
J: “Yes, buddy”
M: “I don’t feel good” (Clain said this while on his antibiotic months ago, which would get him a bedtime snack to soothe his tummy ache from the irritation… he hasn’t forgotten… so we knew what was coming)
J:”Where do you not feel good”
M:”I just not feel good in my tummy”
J:”I’m sorry buddy”
M:”I just need to come talk about it with you in there”!!!

SOOO many new phrases he’s using every day!!! It's SO adorable to hear him use "big people phrases", even when he's trying to be manipulative!! :)

Sleepy Time!

2009-01-05T15:25:00.003-06:00

This is how I found Maclain this morning! It appears he had a rough night! :)

This is what I found when I peeked in on Maclain at naptime a few minutes ago! :)

It just doesn't get any better than being a mom!!!

Notification!

2009-01-02T10:38:00.003-06:00

On the Mike and Julliette show this morning they had a short segment were they were showing pics of celebrities and showing how to get their look for less… well… they showed a pic of Katie Holmes and her jeans (which happened to be $350) were TIGHT ROLLED!!!! That’s right!!! It’s comin’ back!!!!!!!

Just a note: She was wearing these with some pointy high heeled shoes (and in the pic I found above some cute little flats), so do not tight roll your jeans and then wear your old school Sebago’s or you will look out of style!!! :)

Enjoy, children of the 80's!!

Gatlinburg Trip!

2009-01-02T08:49:00.004-06:00

Quick Update... Maclain's rash only lasted a total of about 2 hours and went away with the Benadryl!!! SO, for now, we don't think it was Fifth's (Dr. said the rash just doesn't do that), but we still have 2 more weeks before we'll know for sure if he got it this go round!

Okay.... so, we left the day after Christmas to spend some time in Gatlinburg with the Lawsons. Maclain and I had just gotten back from there with some of my family just two weeks before, so he was super excited! Especially about going to see the sharks, sting rays, and fish again at the "Quarium"! SO... off to "Quarium" we went! Here are some pictures of that day!

We love having Aunt Jamie with us! She's game to help Maclain with any task!

Just thought this was a cute pic. He's looking at little baby chics... yes, at the aquarium!

VERY realistic looking... especially with Maclain's hand wrapped around the side of the leg there!

I just thought these looked so cool!!

One of the "crawl inside" aquariums. Okay... so Daddy will tackle tasks with Clain too... maybe I just stay behind the camera!?

Another very realistic looking shot! Maclain sure thinks he's cute stuff here, though!!

What's going on with my "Little Man"!?

2008-12-31T16:38:00.003-06:00

WELL... we've been laying low the last week or so, because we had been exposed to Fifth's Disease at church, and that can slightly increase your chances of miscarriage in the first half of pregnancy. Ironically, this was our second time to be exposed, and until this time, I had never actually heard of a confirmed case! Anyways, today Maclain woke up with a pretty tale tale sign of Fifths... the red rash cheeks!!! SO, we were geared for the worse! He has had a low grade fever for a few days, and didn't sleep well last night, and now has a fever staying around 101, so considering the dr's out tomorrow, the nurse told me to bring him in today! By the time we got there, the rash looked so much better, but before we left it was back and EVERYWHERE on his face!!! They gave him benadryl, said it's viral, but given the "come and go" at the moment they don't think it's Fifths! It'll still be at least a couple of weeks before we'll know for sure if he caught it, but in the meantime, what is going on with my child??? Look at these pictures!! They don't do the rash justice... I was using my little point shoot camera, so the flash washes out the redness! It was quite yucky in person!

Here he is while we're getting ready to go to the dr.

Here is is at the dr.'s office! He's feeling pretty cruddy by this point!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-24T10:47:00.004-06:00

I didn't get my Christmas cards out in the mail til Monday, so many of you haven't received them yet!! BUT, I also wanted to send along wishes to all my wonderful clients! May you all have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Good thing I have a little one on the way!

2008-12-21T21:20:00.003-06:00

I had the wonderful privilege of keeping my 8 week old nephew, Liam last night! My family was over for Christmas and I got to keep him behind until this afternoon! He slept great for me, and was SUCH a little angel... especially when I was holding him! :) I miss him terribly already and it's only been a few hours!! Anyway, if I didn't have a little bun in the oven, I would SURE be wanting one now! So much of Liam reminds me of Maclain when he was that little, but you just forget about it! I'm SO looking forward to meeting our little one... even as tired as I feel tonight! :)

Here are two incredibly sweet pictures... one of Liam, and one of Liam and Clain. I just wished I had my good camera on hand to capture them! It was upstairs... I was afraid the moment would pass before I got back down ready to go!

By the way... just in case you're wondering. Maclain was SO incredibly sweet with Liam and simply wanted to hang out right by him. It never bothered him for me to be giving Liam so much attention, but I just tried to incorporate Maclain whenever possible! He sure loves Liam (although he calls him Keller... his best buddy's little baby brother)! :)

Decorating for Christmas!

2008-12-18T20:41:00.001-06:00

Here at the Lawson house Maclain's been "decorating for Christmas". He went in mine and Jared's bedroom tonight and started pulling all of the pillows off of the bed. We asked him what he was doing and he said "decorating for Christmas"! He's officially done now so I made sure to document it!!

ALSO... a quick baby update! Saturday I will be TWELVE weeks! A long awaited milestone!! I'm SO thankful and so blessed to have made it this far! God is truly amazing! We went to the doctor this morning for the 12 week check-up and we listened to the baby's heartbeat... which was 170! SO... everyone says "GIRL" now... but Maclain's heart rate was never below 160, so I just don't hold any faith in this old wive's tale!

Updated Session Pics!

2008-12-17T08:41:00.006-06:00

Here's a mass post of some sessions over the last month... a crazy busy month! If you don't see your sweet little one it's because you told me your session was for Christmas presents... so I'm trying to keep it a surprise for ya! :)

Christmas Traditions Officially Changed!

2008-12-16T16:43:00.003-06:00

This is an official notification that "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" will from this point forward be referred to as "Rudolph the Reindeer Nose", and when his song is sung, you are to only repeat "Rudolph the Reindeer Nose" over and over!

Second notification... "Frosty the Snowman" has officially changed his name to "Johnny the Snowman", and when you sing his song, you are to repeat, over and over, "Johnny the Snowman Nose"!

:) I LOVE this age!!!!!

Tink!

2008-12-12T16:18:00.003-06:00

WELL... our little man is in love with Tinkerbell. Not necessarily in the "want to be Tinkerbell" kind of way, but in the "I want to marry her" kind of way! He claims that Tinkerbell is his girlfriend! Considering if Maclain owned a Tinkerbell doll in any form, he would ride her around on his Lightning McQueen car, or hang her from his fishing pole, we aren't too worried... but... there's this ONE little thing! :) When I noticed that Tinkerbell had her very own movie, I thought it would be harmless to buy it for Maclain! Well, Maclain loved it, and watched it several times before moving on to something else, BUT, the Tink movie just HAPPENED to come with a PURPLE TINKERBELL BAG! He found it before I ever even realized why the box was so big!! SO, for several days he had to carry this purple bag around with him EVERYWHERE before it too "got old"! Thankfully... he used the bag to carry around Buzz Lightyear and Woody, but still, Jared's response was "did you HAVE to let him have the purple Tinkerbell bag??" :) It's since become obsolete in Maclain's world, and neither he nor I could tell you where it's at, but I ran across this picture which brought back the lovely memory of those few days! :)

It's Raining, It's pouring...

2008-12-11T14:18:00.004-06:00

And Clain's laying beside me snoring... well, asleep at least! :)

I woke up this morning, needing to run about 50 errands in Decatur, but after spending ALL day in Huntsville yesterday running errands in the rain, I just couldn't do it!! When will I get everything done??!! I don't know! But I just couldn't drag me and Clain in and out of the rain today! SO... I've been working on the computer ALL day since about 7:30 this morning, and it has rained ALLLLLL day! Our neighbor's back yard looks like they have a beautiful pond, and the creek that runs behind our houses is the highest I've ever seen it, and is flowing as fast as I've ever seen it! This is the same creek that was practically dry this summer with just a lot of weeds! BUT, today, we have our own Priceville Water Sports teams practicing. Well, at least a man in a canoe and a lady in a kayak! It's crazy! Maclain and I were sitting on the couch, and I saw a BRIGHT yellow object out of the corner of my eye, and low and behold... A man in a canoe trucks right on by!!! I ran as fast as I could to get my point and shoot camera, and tried to take a picture, but it was on video!?! SO... I have this very short, shaky video clip! :)

I know it's been forever since I've posted and updated everyone, I'm just trying to stay afloat here... so the blog is the first to fall behind! After Christmas, things should be back to normal... whatever normal is?!

Sassy to Sweet in 2.0!

2008-12-04T08:31:00.003-06:00

This morning around 7:15 Maclain crawled up in the bed with me (I was enjoying sleeping in with the rain outside)! Maclain cuddled up and said "I want to snuggle... you're comfy!" SO, we all know what that means, right?? Skinny people just aren't good snugglers!! Anyway, 2 seconds later he says, I want to snuggle with the baby and proceeded to cuddle up to my belly... which is growing every day now! Sweet, huh?

We're "HOME"!

2008-12-02T00:11:00.002-06:00

WELL... we're finally half settled! We still have a long time before we have things decorated and cozy enough to make it feel like "home", but we're getting there!

Tonight is my first night with internet! We still don't have the wireless working but at least I can work again!!! OH... and post! :)

Life is good, but crazy. I feel great, but exhausted! :) Saturday I'll be 10 weeks pregnant, and I can't thank you all enough for the continued prayers you're sending our little one's way!

Here are a few pictures we took the night before we moved. Things still had to be cleaned (hence the dirty floors and mirrors and all the junk in the studio), but things were "done"!

Life is CRAZY! :)

2008-11-28T08:27:00.002-06:00

I am sitting in the Panera Bread parking lot with the car running, and fog surrounding me! JUST to let you guys all know we are half way moved into the new house, but now we don't have internet in either place! SO... please be aware that I am unable to check emails, and or do any ordering, so business is at a halt at the moment! We hope to have everything up and running soon! I just pulled up the number to bellsouth, and will be calling them to get internet service now! I'm just not sure how long it will take! :) We will be cutting our charter service off soon (even though we are in the SAME subdivision, Charter is not currently available at our new house)! SO... we will be switching emails soon! I will be back to normal soon.... hopefully! :)

We are LOVING the new house! :)

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!!

BIG Changes in the Lawson Home!!

2008-11-20T14:39:00.002-06:00

Not only are we going to be moving homes next week, but we'll be adding another little one to the mix soon! That's right Baby Lawson #2 is on their way!! I will be 8 weeks pregnant on Saturday, with a due date of July 4th! :) We had an ultrasound this morning, and the baby's heartbeat was 140. Slower heart rates are boy, right? Maclain keeps saying it's a boy! :) We could care less! It took us two years to get to this point, and we've been in a bit of a limbo during this first trimester (and will continue to be for several weeks/months), but we are thrilled beyond measure for this opportunity! So, we don't care if it's a boy or a girl! We just want this little one to grow and thrive, and we pray and pray and pray for just that! I will keep you all posted as we go! For now, we're in a daze of happiness, but we ask that you pray for our little one, and that the so called "odds" against him or her never come in to play!

Thank you!!!!

Prayer Request!

2008-11-19T13:13:00.002-06:00

Jared's first cousin Brady married an extraordinary woman, Kim. Who from what I hear has one extraordinary mom (Diane Knight)! Kim's mom is very sick with a very bad infection that seems to be in a large portion of her body, and is effecting her organs. She is currently staying in the TSICU at DCH, where her lab work doesn't seem to be making any improvements. This is a very scary time for Kim and her family (she has 3 precious little ones). Kim and the family needs our prayers for comfort, and Kim's mom needs our prayers for healing!

Thank you to all my wonderful friends, family and clients! I know so many awesome prayer warriors, and if there's one thing we can put our faith in in this world, it's PRAYERS!!

I'll post soon more about me... BUT, this past month has been a bit of a scary (and blessing filled) one for me, and it's the prayers that I know are going up on my behalf that have kept me strong, and given me peace! PRAYER WORKS! SO... send a few up for Mrs. Diane Knight for me please, and lets just watch what our prayers can do!!

Maclain's Got it Straight!

2008-11-18T14:49:00.002-06:00

This picture has absolutely NOTHING to do with this story, but I thought the picture was cute! This is my nephew Eli and Maclain the last time Eli spent the night with us!

Now... on to the story!

SO, the Lawson's are moving in with us since they are buying our house, and their house sold! We should only all be camping out together for about a week, but in the meantime, Maclain is going to be LOVING life having most of his favorite people all under one roof! We wonder who he's going to try and sneak into bed with in the middle of the night now!!

Sunday night we were all sitting around the table eating dinner, and PawPaw (Jared's dad) asked Maclain who was a stinker. Expecting to hear "I am", Maclain answered "PawPaw". SO, I said "who else is stinker"... again expecting an "I am", but he answered "Mamaw"! Somebody then said "who's precious"... and even though I was motioning for him to answer "Mommy" he answered "Daddy"! I decided to try one more time and asked him "who else is precious?" This time, he replied "Aunt Jamie"! Well I wasn't getting the response I wanted so, I asked "What is Mommy"? And in his sweet little matter of fact voice he answered, "god"!!! :)

That's right Maclain, keep us all straight!! :)

Disclaimer: We by no means teach our child that there is more than our one God that we worship!!

More Progress!

2008-11-15T16:25:00.006-06:00

Lots of progress happened this week! We are SUPPOSED to close by the 28th! We'll see!!! Here are some pictures of the latest... pictures from this weeks sessions to follow at some point! :) And Cousin Josh... I have pictures of Maclain too!!! :)

Our outdoor lights are up and working!

The side entry for clients...

Well, probably most people because it's the closest to the driveway! :)

Counter tops and working sink in the utility room!

"Jared's room" :)

"My room" :)

Master Bath... tile isn't finished

Sconces up the stairway!

Master Bedroom

Kitchen sink... I'm not crazy about the faucet?!

The bar still isn't up!

New counter tops... this is the island!!

The kitchen with the new counter tops. Now

we just need the trim on the cabinets, and the bar

and stove installed... and I think it will be complete!

Bits and Pieces!

2008-11-11T17:25:00.006-06:00

Well... Here we are! A week and a half past our original close date! BUT... we are supposed to be moving by the end of the month if not earlier... in our builder's language that means at 4:45 on November 30th! Seriously! Along the way, I've exchanged a few words with the builder I'm not proud of... but HE STARTED IT!! Things are calm at the minute, and he's finally trucking things along again! The Lawson's (who are buying our current home) are closing on their home on the 21st, so we'll all be bunking together for about a week or so! I'm glad we love our in-laws! :) I'm hoping to get some good meals out of the living arrangements! :)

For now... this is the progress!

The Master Bath Shower. It still has to be grouted.

The kitchen... we were supposed to have countertops today!?!?!?

The utility room... I HATE doing laundry, but I LOVE the space in this utility room! It has tons of cabinets, a standard closet (to the immediate left), and an under the stairs closet (top left)

Another view of the laundry room... can you tell I'm excited??

The breakfast room/sitting room. We're putting a cool antique (recovered) sofa and chairs that sit low to the ground... and eventually a coffee table if we can ever afford one!

One side of the kitchen

The other side of the kitchen.

Better picture of the kitchen floor with the cabinets.

Dining Room.

Electrician was there today!!

Fireplace! They put a wall switch that turns them on! Now maybe we'll actually use them!

Pig Tails!

2008-11-11T11:31:00.001-06:00

Are these not THE CUTEST pig tails EVER?? Not to mention one set of gorgeous blue eyes!!! This baby girl just turned one, and she has one awesome, sweet family!!

Cutie Pie Kenzie!

2008-11-11T10:11:00.003-06:00

I met this sweet little girl's mom at Hartselle Depot Days. She sells Uppercase Living (the wall decals you rub on to walls, plates... any thing non fuzzy... and it looks hand painted). Well, she had a booth set up, and I fell in love with the products... as well as my friends when I brought the catalog home! SO, I had a party and got TONS of free stuff! In the process, we ended up with a session scheduled for her baby girl! Kenzie has got to be one of the sweetest little girls I've ever photographed! She's such a smart little one, and quite the mommy to her doll who just happened to be wearing a matching dress!

Thanks Kenzie for being such a great little trooper! I had so much fun hanging out with you and your mom!!

Accessorizing !

2008-11-09T21:49:00.002-06:00

You won't see any pictures with this post... for fear of my life... but I HAVE to share this story! A DEAR friend of mine, who happens to be great at accessorizing, went one step further than normal this afternoon. I'm going to try to keep this as vague as possible so that the people involved will remain anonymous (her), and protected (me)! SO... this afternoon, my friend was chatting away on the phone when her child was trying to "pierce her ear" with a purple bead. Well, something went awry and the bead ended up wedged in my friend's ear! I'm not talking about wedged where you can grab it and pull it out, but WEDGED "IN" her ear!!!! :) I called to ask her a question amidst the chaos, and she asked for "Dr. Lawson's" help! :) When I showed up, her child was bouncing around as though nothing was happening, and my friend came out of the bathroom with a red ear... and from the looks of the bathroom as I walked in they had already been doing a little "surgery" with the tweezers and VACUUM CLEANER!! :) I got a flash light, and looked and looked, and NO PURPLE bead! She kept saying she could feel it right inside, so we gave the good old vacuum cleaner another try. Just picture it. I was sitting in the floor, she was hanging over me upside down, we were both pulling her ear as I wedged the vacuum cleaner so far on her ear it created a seamless suction!! :) She said she felt like it had moved, so we took another look (my sister-in-law Jamie was giving her assistance at this time... as Maclain stood at the door with my friend's mom and child giggling!) Okay... so I was the continued start of the giggles, BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT! Anyways... Jamie finally spotted the bead, and I caught a glimpse as well, so we tried the tweezers. I could hear, and feel when the tweezers would tap the bead, but it was wedged SO tightly, I couldn't get the tweezers around it! I then tried a bobby pin trying to just get under it and pop it out, but I think I was causing more pain that it was worth! :) SO... my friend who is quickly approaching her 30's as am I, is going to be heading to the Dr.... to get a PURPLE BEAD out of her ear!!! She HAS to hold the record for the oldest "kid" to get a bead stuck in the ear and end up in the Dr.'s office!!

SO... I'm thinking in true "accessorizing" form, she'll go for an outfit with purple tomorrow! :)

I LOVE YOU, "FRIEND"! :)

My Sweet E.G.!

2008-11-08T08:23:00.005-06:00

This is my favorite... so it's BIG! :)

This adorable baby girl turned FOUR a few months ago... and I was just about as sad as when Maclain turned three! You see, this little one's mom, April, and I go WAY back! We were completely inseparable in high school (where we first met), and I still completely depend on her friendship time and time again! Jared and I are also Ella Grace's God-Parent's... something we feel SO honored to be! I'm so thankful to have these two in my life, and look forward to watching E.G. (that's what Jared nick named her when she was itty bitty) grow up... and to take her pictures (Isn't she gorgeous?!)!

She had the cutest little teal dress on in some of her pictures, but I just LOVED this awesome outfit April found, so that's the samples you're seeing! :)

Maclain's THREE year pictures!!

2008-11-05T16:15:00.004-06:00

I FINALLY did it! I took Maclain's official 3 year pictures! :) Going through them all and seeing his sweet little expressions just makes me love him even more! I am SOOOOOOO blessed!!

Just to Prove I'm Still in Business!

2008-11-05T07:06:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pics from recent sessions!

I CAN'T believe I didn't have a camera!!

2008-11-03T15:34:00.003-06:00

Saturday Jared and I were working in the new house, and Maclain was "helping" us. I was putting together the vanity, and Jared was grouting the bathroom floor. WELL... Maclain decided to play in the box that the vanity came in. No problem, right? It kept him busy! After about 15 minutes, Jared came walking by and said "Clain... look at your Mama"! He stood up out of the box, and was COVERED from head to toe, SOLID in little tiny balls of styrofoam!!! They were in his nose, mouth, EVERYWHERE! He looked like a snowman! It was SO funny! Of course, you can't just brush those off, so we had to break out the shop vac and vacuum him off! I didn't have my camera with me since we were just working, and considering he was inhaling them I didn't really want to delay the vacuuming! :)

Apparently, he thought it was neat to "dig" into the big piece of styrofoam packaging!

CAN'T believe I don't have it on film!! You HAVE to picture it though!!

Beautiful Colors!

2008-11-01T12:50:00.006-05:00

Jared, Clain and I met up with a few of Jared's work friends who do a little photography on Friday. They met at a memorial gardens in Huntsville, BUT the colors were SO pretty I had to snap some pictures of Maclain there! I kept the headstones out of the picture! :)

He's been three for 2 months and I've yet to take his "3 year pics"!! I'll get to those soon! :)

Halloween Party!!

2008-10-31T21:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Maclain's Halloween party at preschool! He had a BLAST!! He had been wanting to wear his costume for days, but after many cleanings between wearings over the last month, I made him wait until it was time to wear it for school! Well, yesterday morning, he woke up, his feet hit the floor, and he IMMEDIATELY went to his Buzz costume, stripped down to his undies and proceeded to put his costume on! He never even said a word to us! It was precious!
Tonight, he had a BLAST trick-or-treating, but the last couple of houses he started saying, "I need to rest"! SO, we called it quits around 7 (after about 40 minutes... and very few houses) and went to Mamaw and Pawpaw's for dinner!

Here are some pictures from yesterday at school!

I'll eventually post some pictures from the new house... and my sessions from this week!!

"Finally... it's time to wear my costume to school!!"

"Look Mom, they LOVE my costume!"

"THIS is the pumpkin!" (All the kids were able to go outside on the playground and "hunt" a pumpkin)

"I just LOVE my pumpkin"

Mr. Incredible (Price... Clain's Best Bud) found his favorite pumpkin too... it happened to be the biggest, and didn't have a stem! :)

SWEETEST video EVER!

2008-10-30T14:04:00.007-05:00

He did not learn this directly from us!!! THANK YOU PRESCHOOL!!!

My family JUST GOT BIGGER!!!

2008-10-29T17:31:00.005-05:00

Introducing Liam Grantland.... my newest little nephew! He doesn't have a middle name (or first name depending on where they decide to put the name "Liam"), but isn't he THE MOST ADORABLE little guy you have EVER seen!? He is SOOO sweet!!! He's WAY too alert for a newborn, so I have a feeling he's going to give my brother and sister-in-law a run for their money! :) It's only been about 5 hours since I've seen him, but I already miss him terribly!

Just click on the birth announcement to enlarge it!

Best Eyes... Best Hair!

2008-10-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

These two sweet siblings are as sweet as can be! The sweet little girl has THE BEST eyes ever! Absolutely no photoshopping needed to enhance the blue! And, isn't that little guys hair the best?? He also happens to be one awesome big brother!! Their interaction with one another was SO sweet!!

I can talk to anyone!

2008-10-27T09:17:00.002-05:00

I first met this little guy at Maclain's school when I did their spring school pictures. He was SUCH a little cutie, I couldn't help but remember him! Fast forward... our new target opened up in town and I was out doing a little shopping and saw that cute little face again! I couldn't help but go up and talk to his mom... I know I'm surprised I wasn't kidnapped as a child!

That conversation led to a session date and time, and I was able to meet his whole family... who are just as sweet and precious as he is!! I had so much fun capturing their interactions with one another, and they are yet another check mark on my list of all the blessings God has sent my way!