I take photographs

Some moms write things down. Some have some super-human memories. I take photographs.

I am afraid to forget the beautiful and the everyday. I am afraid to forget that moment a few days ago when my kids were looking out the window in my office while I worked. How cute they were watching the world go by. How big and little they are all at the same time. How precious they are to me.

My journaling intentions always fall by the wayside. But I am never far from my camera. And I always feel some comfort as I release the shutter to capture one more moment of my children that will never be again. I am thankful that I take photographs.

(By the way, the windows in my office are pretty much at floor-length and always locked and closed - I didn't want anyone to think that I am letting my kids climb up high onto windows while I worried about getting the perfect shot!)

A Kid's Life Photography Website

Mama J

I have a soft spot for teachers. The idea of schools and teachers gives me the warm fuzzies. My mom was a teacher for 28 years and I admired her greatly. We always rode to school together and I would play in her classroom before school started. And when I "grew up," I would chaperone school trips with her class and visit her classroom for special events. When I became a flight attendant (that's another story), my mom convinced me to come to her classroom and give a presentation. I felt so dumb standing there in my flight attendant uniform showing a group of 5th graders how to buckle your seatbelt.

And then it was time for questions and they were fighting to ask me questions. (There must be some unwritten rule that whomever holds their arm in the air the highest and squirms like they have to go to the bathroom will get the next chance to ask their important question. I love the kids that don't really have a question prepared but rather like the contest of being picked and then do the "Um.... uh... do they have... videos games on airplanes?") I admit that this attention sure made a girl feel good. Yup, another reason to love teachers and school.

Those teachers leave lasting impressions on us. They shape us. And one such high school home ec teacher inspired Mama J Creations. Mama J was like a feisty grandma teaching you how to sew. The kind you love, but just can't help but put pins in your mouths to get her riled up!

And she would be proud to see the products bearing her nickname. They are so cute and stylish, and yes Mama J, so well made! 

I had the privilege of photographing some of the purses in the product line. The bags are works of art and I hope you enjoy the photographs... 

Emails in pajamas

The reality is that we are all just normal people living normal lives. All of us. Ok - maybe not the Queen of England, but the rest of us are just regular people.

But I have to admit that there are a few people in my life that I admire so greatly that I forget they are just regular people too. That they type emails in their pajamas and go to the dentist and read Reader's Digest in the bathroom. Well, maybe that last one is just me and anyone over 65. 

Jasmine Star is one of these people for me. She is a wedding photographer based in California and her work is, in my mind, perfection. It is where I push myself to go. And this is a good thing. All of us need that person to admire to make us want to be better. And for me, Jasmine Star is my girl.

So I thought that I would send her an email with a few questions in hopes that maybe she would someday answer one question. Just one. In her spare time. Maybe...

And you know what? She responded! She sent me a nice email and answered my questions on her blog. Yes, I was mentioned in the blog of my number-one-wanna-be-girl! This is a big day for me. And it reminds me that we are all just regular people. That she is just a person at her computer sending me an email, maybe even in her pajamas.

View Jasmine Star's Blog

A moment of consciousness...

It was late and I had a big photography project on my mind - and I was in bed - not sleeping. So I sent an email to get it off of my mind, and as I was walking down the stairs from my office I had an overwhelming desire to snuggle with my 16-month old son. 

Sometimes I feel like I am living in a haze. Like I am living an unconscious life, just trying to keep up and not really thinking about everything as I go along. (Moms, do you feel me?)

But through the haze, I have strong moments of consciousness. Moments where there is something bigger than myself leading me to be aware of life. Where my breaths are slower and my heart is happy and my thoughts are only focused on what is in front of me. Oh how I love and seize these moments!

When I am working with my clients, this focus happens so easily for me. I feel so present with them and their children and I don't ever think about anything else. But when it comes to my personal life, the moments do not always come without effort. But I was blessed last night.

I lifted my little Abe out of his crib and brought him to bed with us. We snuggled so close. I kissed his cheek, and in his sleep he made a kissing noise with his lips. I smelled his hair. Actually it would be more accurate to say I deeply inhaled the smell of his hair. I smelled his breath. I thought about his tummy always full of Cheerioes and milk and if that was why his breath smelled the way it did. I kissed his cute lips. I rubbed his tummy. I felt his toes. I fell asleep with my arm around him and my face snuggled in his neck. It was beautiful, and so is my son. I thank God for him every day.

I took these shots a couple days ago. One look at those cheeks and you can see why I kiss them so often! I hope you didn't mind my gushing for a bit.:)

My Happy Place

While I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I took a birthing class. We had to practice breathing and concentrate on finding our "happy place." I really tried hard... for about 30 seconds, but then my busy brain moved on to other thoughts like how I could get an epidural and how long it would take me to get an epidural and if it would hurt to get an epidural. I never really found my happy place, and went with the epidural for both of my children.

I am unsure if we are going to have a third child, but I do know one thing for sure: I now have a happy place if I need one. It is a porch in rural America on a sunny fall evening. Yup, a porch just like the Lyon's. Ok - not just like theirs, but theirs specifically. This is my new happy place.

The kids are amazing and were so fun and kind to me (I even left with a gift of original artwork!). We played hard, and even through the wrestling, they were full of love for each other. While we played, their parents sat on the swing and visited, and you could tell that they so enjoyed each other's company even after 12 years of marriage. And then there was the sunset and the woods and the grass and the dog and the porch. Oh, that porch where they spend most summer evenings.

Yes, it is pretty much white-picket-fence-ideal-America, but it really goes deeper than that. This porch holds love and time well spent together too. Sounds cheesy, I know, but if you were there you would understand. And I hope the photographs give you a glimpse of that. 

I am feeling a bit indecisive so I included quite a few images. I hope you enjoy them...

A Kid's Life Photography Website