25/52::Michael at Lavender Farms::June 30

I dropped the ball on the 52 Photo Project. Badly. But I realized a couple of weeks ago how much I love those pics from last year, so even though I can't go back in time and stay caught up, I can start where I am.

We went to Lavender Days this past weekend. I love Lavender Days with it's horse-drawn wagon rides, and the hamster balls in the wading pool for kids to play in, and the blacksmith shop, and the labyrinth, jousting, and the animals: bison, camel, elk, and all kinds and sizes of horses.

This picture was taken of Michael as he sat by me in his wheelchair during the jousting tournament ~ Mike loved Lavender Days too! His favorite was watching the kids in the hamster balls playing on the water of the wading pool. What he really wanted to do was jump in w/o the hamster ball and just play in the water! :)


"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2014."

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Natalie, Ryan, & kiddos::The Photoshoot::June 20

A few weeks ago, (on May 24th) I met this family at the barn to do a photoshoot. I didn't know how easy this one was going to be! The pictures seemed to edit themselves, for the most part, which says something about how photogenic this family is! It was a fun shoot - the kids were good-natured and did what they were asked to, and they are just so darn adorable :) (You can click on the pics to enlarge them so that you can see better)

Here are a few pics from the photoshoot:



Most of the edits were easy stuff, just getting the lighting and coloring just right, but occasionally there were small issues. Like on this one, where someone thought that graffiti would be a good idea. Thank heavens for photoshop :)





We took some girls/boys pics, some including Mom and Dad and some just with the kids:



















Some were with the cute couple:





And then individuals of the kids:







The baby was doing really well, until he tipped over, then he needed some daddy and mommy time:







And then he was happy all by himself :)



There were a couple of pics that made me move mountains, though. And trees. And houses! If anyone goes looking for this location, they will be sad to know that it only exists in pictures.

Here is the straight out of the camera pic:



After photoshop:



Again, straight out of the camera: (There had to be some silly pics :))



And after photoshop: (silliness abounded!! :) )



Natalie & Ryan, I really enjoyed getting to know your family better! Thanks so much for letting me be your photographer!

♥

This Moment::In Words::June 20

I don't have a picture for this week, so I'm thinking about a moment that I'd like to savor and remember for later that I will tell instead of show...

Yesterday I went to lunch with Cindy so that I could hand off the pictures I took of her niece, Kim, and her baby, Addi.

I took Michael with me, since I had already been to the chiropractor in the morning, and he doesn't like to be left behind twice in the same day.

I loved it!! I loved visiting with Cindy and talking about things that we might not have if our husbands would have been with us (her husband Matt and my husband Steve worked together a long time ago and became good friends, so Cindy and I are usually with our guys when we visit.) Not that we talked about our husbands, but you know how topics get switched up a bit when couples visit as opposed to a one on one visit.

While we visited, Michael, who is learning to eat and drink now but still has a g-tube that we supplement through, ate a biscuit and gravy and some of Cindy's fries and his entire glass of water. SUCCESS!! The eating of food didn't surprise me much, but the drinking of a full glass of water sure did! I long for the day when he gets all of his calories and liquid just from eating!

Also while we visited, Michael was patient and just listened, which is something in the past year that I have learned that he is great at! I'm so grateful that this little guy, who will forever stay my little guy, is fine with sitting still and listening to conversation and then will talk when appropriate. I was always the child that was seen and not heard, by choice not force, and I LOVED it so much and miss it now that I'm older and have to be the one to think of clever things to say - I am truly an introvert. My mom took me with her when she visited her friends, and they gave me a soda at the beginning of the visit, and I sat at the table with them and listened to conversation if it interested me or looked out the windows at the falling snow, or the fluttering of butterflies, or the flying of birds, or I would just entertain myself with my own thoughts. I loved the downtime and that no one expected me to converse much past, "How is school going for you?" Michael seems to be cut from that same cloth :)

I love that as we go through life together, he will be comfortable with me taking him with me to visit and that he doesn't get restless or bored. After raising 5 other children, I can tell you that this quality is rare, but it is and will be such a huge blessing to me!

So, envision this if you will: Cindy, Michael, and me sitting around a circular table in one of those circular booths and eating our food, talking, laughing, and connecting. That is the moment that I truly loved this week.

♥

Burraston Ponds - Looking the Other Direction::June 18

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Burraston Ponds::June 16

I totally forgot to do a post about our day at the pond on the 8th.


Michael loves the raft, so while we were there, Josh, Jared, and Matt each gave him a ride in it

Josh called and said that he and Hayley were coming down so that he could show her the cave up in the mountains, and that he'd be swinging by.


A pic of all who were there

I wasn't feeling well, but thought the we could go to the ponds and I could just sit while everyone played, so that's what we did.


Hayley and Mercedes hanging out

I called and told Amber and Jared about our plans, so they came down too.


Josh and Amber are huge goofballs when they are together :)


Everyone had a blast :)


With how they were padding in circles, it is amazing they got anywhere! :)

As soon as we were finished, they wanted to do it all over again! :)

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PhotoSession with Kim and Addi::June 11

My long time friend, Cindy, asked me to do a newborn photoshoot for her niece, Kim. We met bright and early on a Saturday in May and took pictures at a lovely location that Cindy set up for us. The mommy and baby that I photographed were so cute, and we caught a lot of magical moments on film:



Thanks so much for asking me to do the shoot for them Cindy! I had such a great time, and I loved meeting Kim and Addi. Addi is such a sweet, adorable baby and I wish her and her mommy Kim all of the happiness and wonderful memories in the world! ♥

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