An announcement...

I have been putting off writing this post for a couple of weeks now.

I have been bouncing back and forth.

I haven't wanted to actually say it "out loud" until I had made a final decision.

But now I can say that I know exactly what I have to do.

Exactly what I need to be doing.

I have had a lot of different things going on around me.

I have some family situations weighing on my mind.

I have had some new, exciting opportunities.

And some things just aren't feeling right anymore.

I am sad and a little excited to announce that I am

taking a break from the Photography business.

I have had so many great clients.

I have learned so so many things.

But it has consumed my days, nights, and weekends lately.

I feel like I haven't had the time to learn from it, like I was in the beginning.

I feel like I have forgotten what I LOVED so much about it.

So as of now...

I am not working until after the new year.

I have some new responsibilities.
I am the new President of the Elementary PTO.

A job that I am very excitied about.

I feel like the reason that I stay home is to be there for my kids.

They are the most important thing to me.

Lately, they have been put off because I am so busy.

Being the President is going to require a lot of my time.

Time that I am eager to give.

I also have some other exciting news.

That I will share soon...

(and no...I am not announcing a new baby)

So, Thank You to all of my clients.

I have loved every minute that I have shared with your families!

I spent 2 whole days...

in my Kitchen!

With these beautiful boxes of strawberries...

I used to do this all the time!

I used to love standing in my kitchen for hours on end

creating beautiful things for my family.

And I haven't had the time lately...

(umm...really, like for the last 2 years)

I forgot how much I LOVE it.

I forgot how it makes me feel!

I feel happy,

I feel fulfilled,

I feel exhausted!!

She kept sneeking strawberries...

I, utterly, ADORE her.

She is silly and she is sweet,

and she talks my leg off,

and days like this make me glad that my kiddies are 4 years apart...

I get to spend so much one on one time with them.

16 pounds of strawberries,

42 containers,

25 pounds of sugar,

and a gigantic sticky mess later...

I am DONE with Jam (at least for a little while)

And I have realized a few things along the way...

I need a better balance...and a few less things to do!!

I {heart}...

these three little people.

I was organizing my computers digital files. I found this picture that I took on Christmas Eve.

I LOVE it! I love the way they interact

(well, on most days)

Which leads me to my new little book.

Its a "One line a day" 5 year Memory Book.

Its so cute and doesn't feel big and scary like a journal.

So far I love it. It doesn't take much to fill the little space given for the day.

I write little things the girls say. I let them write their names in it. I write about the way I feel on that certain day. I know that I am going to cherish it over the next 5 years.

I got it at Amazon. Check it out...

You will love it too!

9 months...

He is 9 months old!

I have a love/hate relationship with these children of mine growing...

I LOVE each new stage, each new milestone...

but I hate that they have to grow up so fast.

He is so much fun!

He weights 19.6 lbs.

He is 28 in. long.

He has 2 bottom teeth and 4 teeth on the top that are just about popping through.

He stands up to all the furniture and walks/runs around them.

He is going to be walking very, very soon.

He loves his sisters and laughs and laughs when they play.

He says dada the minute his daddy walks through the door.

He smacks his lips when we say give me a kiss.

He loves to play with Coco.

And I absolutely adore him!

I have the best grandparents...

It's true!! I really, really do.

Now some may think that I am bias. See, I only have this one set of living grandparents. But who would need any more. Anyone else would pale in compairison to them. Let me tell you why...

Yesterday was a awful, horrible, very bad day. I had a horrible weekend. I felt sad.

I cried a lot. I am blaming it on a lot of different circumstances, pregnancy hormones, the gloomy weather, me falling down like a clumsy idiot...

I really could go on and on... but I won't!

Yesterday it just got worse. I felt like I couldn't breath. I felt like just crawling in bed and giving up!

And then I got a phone call from my grandma.

Now I think that we are in tune, in perfect sync.

How did she know that I needed to talk to her?

How did she know that just hearing her voice was going to make me feel better?

I don't know how she knew, but I am sure glad that she did.

The minute I heard her voice, the tears started rolling down my cheeks. And she knew... and I told her about my horrible weekend. And I cried and she cried. And then we laughed, we laughed when I told her about me falling down, because it really was funny! And we laughed, a lot, when she asked about the puppy and I told her that I stepped in her poop with my bare feet the night before!

And then she told me that she loved me and that she missed me. And then she told me that she made my baby boy 2 baseball blankets. And then she gave the phone to my grandpa and he told me that he loved me and that they can't wait to see us! He told me that everything will be okay and that it was 78 degrees where he was...(but I am not sure if that made me feel better;)

And then I made him promise to have my grandma home when I went into labor.

And He said that he would.

You see, with both of the girls, my grandma was with me the entire day while I was in labor. With Aniston she helped me clean my house, she wanted me to lay on the couch, but I insisted that we clean instead. And with Emerson we were shopping in Walmart. She thought that I was going to have her in the grocery isle, but again I insisted that I get everything on my list, because I wasn't going to get to shop for a week or two.

And then we hung up and I felt like I could breath.

I felt so much better. Things really didn't seem so bad.

You see, they really are the best!!

I love you both and I can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!!

Thanks for making my day not so bad!!

And just for them, I am announcing that I am OFFICIALLY on maternity leave. I am only doing a few photography sessions over the next few weeks and then I am done.