Boys and Clothes...

Why oh why is it so hard to keep clothes on a boy? Not only do I have one 4 yr old boy who refuses to wear clothes, I have TWO!

It doesnt matter how cold it is, doesnt matter if we have visitors or not, they feel the need to strip their clothing and run through the house free as a bird! What is this about? I'm honestly at my wits end, especially when it's 25 degrees outside and our house is a bit drafty! I mean come on now, this is getting a little rediculous!

I think what really cracks me up about the whole thing is the crazy wardrobe combinations...no shirt, underwear and socks on hands. Or, underwear and gloves on feet. I must say though, this picture truly represents my all time favorite combo of them all, and look at least he has a shirt on...sort of!

Patience Is A Vertue...

We've all heard that saying right "patience is a vertue" and while that is true it's not a "vertue" I was blessed with! Which, in itself is kinda amazing since I do have 7 children and being a patient person should be a prerequisite in mothering. Now, dont get me wrong I'm not one of those Mom's who's constantly screaming at their kids because I'm impatient over things, no not at all. I do however find myself wishing things would move much faster than they do!

Perfect example...my oldest DD wants maternity pictures done. She's seen some maternity images done of her friends and is always so disappointed in how they turned out. Funny how living with a portrait photographer can rub off on others. She notices lighting and composition, the angles in which the images were shot and how things that should be in focus arent and always says to me "Mom, you could've shot that so much better" or "what was that person thinking" which always makes me feel good she has that much confidence in my work and ability, but also sad that her friends have mediocre maternity photos to document such a special part of being a woman.

Anyway, getting back to my point! So, she wants pictures done, and while she's really starting to show it's really not the right time to shoot these images. I told her we need to wait until she's at least around 32 weeks so the "belly" is really emphasized. She of course agreed and understands, but I however knowing this is the proper thing to do for maternity images am sitting on pins and needles to do this shoot! I keep talking to my Grandson saying "you need to grow for Nana so we can do pictures" which in itself sounds stupid I know, but I cant help it. I want her to have beautiful images to remember carrying him, to look back on in rememberance of the love she held for him before he was ever born. Those are the images I think that maternity shots are all about, and that of course is what I want to give her. I have all these ideas in my head swiming around with no where to go for the moment and it's driving me batty at times.

So with my impatience and artistic vision working hand in hand we decided to give it a shot (love the pun) and shoot a couple of images from the side, just to see my ideas in front of me, not just in my head (we all know things are most wonderful in ones mind, but tend to look completely different in reality) and shooting a bit also calms the "impatient" creative side of me as well.

The images turned out well and have calmed me down as I now know what will work and what wont. I still have all these ideas and visions on what the future images will look like, and will of course still continue to think of more things, but for now I'm happy with what we've gotten so far. Only about 7 more weeks until we can do the full blown shoot, so it's really not that far off and I really am looking forward to doing it. Hopefully others will love the images as much as I will love making them, then again as we all know in the photography world, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What one may consider "beautiful" another may not. Oh well, it's the way of the world and one we must all accept!

I suppose after I shoot the maternity session for her my next work up needs to be newborn images! I have some really great ideas for that session too...see...the wheels in my mind never stop turning!

Fall Is Upon us...

The leaves are turning vibrant colors and falling to the ground. This time of year always makes me feel all "warm and fuzzy" inside. I'm not quite sure why, but the cooler weather always gives me a "jump start" after a long and HOT summer! Seeing the beautiful colors the trees were turning on our property I thought it time to shoot some fall pictures of the boys. Why just the boys you ask? Well, considering they are the only ones that will "sit still for Mommy" and do what I ask without complaint, they are my easiest targets :) Not to mention they love getting their pictures taken, so that is always a plus

With fall brings fall cleanup (that's what I like to call it when I'm trying to get the kids to participate in leaf duty LOL) Jim was on leave for about a week, so he helped do some home improvement work on the house and also supervised the brush burning we conducted. Have I mentioned it's really nice to have a husband that is a "jack of many trades" because that means that he can fix most anything that is needing fixing, and also teaches the boys how to do this type of maintence as well! Makes life much easier on Mom.

So, here we are cleaning up the property in preperation for winter. Burning leaves and brush along with the dozen trees Jim and Tyler have cut down around here. Hardwoods of course are cut up and put in the wood shed for burning this winter, while the pines are burnt in the burn pile. Have I mentioned how hard it is to try and clean, cut and mow 6.5 acres? It's not an easy task, especially when your riding lawn mower is broken and you really need a bulldozer to move things, but all you have is a wheel barrel UGH!!! We did however get it cleaned up, I suppose there is an advantage of having 7 kids, as even the little ones can have a job to do in helping out.

Now that all that is done I look out my kitchen window as the leaves fall and wonder how much bribery I'm going to have to conduct to get them all back out there to clean up these leaves...hmmmm...I may have my work cut out for me because as we all know "you need to be out in the fresh air" line doesnt work that well on teenagers anymore *sigh*

What's Up Lately???

I figured since this blog has been so neglected and I'm trying to update as much as possible, that this was a perfect opportunity to write what's been up with this crazy clan lately! Nothing major, other than normal life changes (well normal for us I suppose, not everyone is like us) so here's the skinny on our family happenings!

As stated in the "Playing Catch Up" posting, we've moved back home to our house in Raeford NC and while we love being in our house with all the space and comforts of a larger than we're used to house, it's been an adjustment on so many levels!

I honestly never realized how much I enjoyed living within the Marine Corps community or how much living on base was a blessing. Not that living here in our house is a bad thing by any means, but getting used to being out in the country with no neighbors and having so much property for the kids to roam has been rather strange. It takes us about 25 minutes to get to the Army base here (Ft. Bragg) so going to the commissary these days is not exactly a hop, skip and a jump from our house any longer. That's taken some getting used to I must say. Prices is another thing that is just blowing my mind! Now, gas prices as we all know have been crazy, but I'm talking about just everyday needs prices, milk, bread..things of that nature. I suppose I was spoiled in being able to shoot down the street to the "C-store" and grab some milk and bread for a lot less than what I'm paying now (and to think I used to complain about the prices then) not to mention the "no sales tax" benefits from shopping on base, yeah well that is no longer a reality for us, unless I want to drive the 25 minutes to base (as I'm sure you can tell I'm not into doing that on a daily basis) so I pay the sales tax and higher prices for the convenience of shopping somewhere closer...it's just a vicious cycle for me and one I'm having trouble adjusting to...call me crazy!

On another front however we've had some great news. Jim was recently selected for Chief Warrant Officer 3, so he'll be pinning that one come August 09. We're all really proud of and excited for him! He of course was sweating the promotion board (as he does everytime) and was relieved he was selected. Frankly I'm not sure why he does this when it comes to promotions, I mean he really does his job above and beyond the requirements, not to mention he's always a giver of at least 110% to his job, his shop, the Corps and his fellow Marines, so the thoughts of him "wondering" if he'll be selected has always blown me away! I suppose considering he's a very humble man in nature, this shouldnt surprise me, but as always I am surprised at his feelings of uncertainty when it comes to things of this nature.

The kids are all doing well. Charity is enrolling in college for winter semester and expecting her first child come spring. OMG that actually makes me a "Grandmother" doesnt it? You see though I'll not be referred to as "Grandma" because I am WAY TOO YOUNG for that, so I'll be "Nana" to my little Grandson! Yep, that sounds much better dont you think? Anyway, he's due to make his appearance March 09 so we're looking forward to meeting this precious soul!

Tiffiany and Tara start their new dance lessons tomorrow. They will be learning "Scottish Highland Dance" and are super excited as are Jim and I. We've always loved that type of dancing, of course I love the Highland dance, and Jim loves the Irish Step dancing (can you tell from what nationality we each come from?) so the celtic culture has always facinated us and the girls are just beside themselves they will actually be a part of a "Celtic School of the Arts" here in town. They are looking forward to working hard so they can compete in the Highland Games in Boone NC this summer! Their Granddaddy (my Father) would be so proud!

So, as you can see we're still around and still a crazy clan as always. Never a dull moment in a family of 9, but even with the loudness, the hecktic schedules and all that comes with raising 7 children. I wouldnt have it any other way, because without them my life would completely meaningless!

Playing Catch Up...

Well since it's been FOREVER since I've posted to this blog, and I feel a need to revive this place once again, I thought I'd post some past entries from another blog I have...am thinking I'll be keeping this blog as my main writing place, so I feel the need to play "catch up"

So, here is the latest blog entry from my other writing places. Please forgive me while I try and update as much as possible :)

Change In Seasons (Sept 27, 2008)

Well, it's been one crazy summer for me! Many ups and downs, ins and outs and now finally summer is over and fall has arrived. With the change of the seasons I hope good change continues as it has been for the last few weeks!

We've moved into our old home and even though it was a crazy and unorganized move, we're finally settling in and things are getting back to somewhat of a normal pace. I've been trying to get back into the groove of schooling the kids (which was postponed due to the move) and trying to prepare for the holiday season that seems to be creeping up on me as it does every year very quickly.

I have recently gotten back behind my camera after about a month long absence due to all the busy happenings in my life lately! I took a couple of my girls out on our property to shoot some pictures...it was great fun and with the weather being crazy due to the Noreaster tooling up the coast, the wind was a fun and great opportunity to shoot some shots. The girls long hair and the wind made for more dramatic images, just what I needed to get back into the photography groove so to speak LOL :)

So, without further ado (I never know if I spell that word right or not, it never looks right...but that's a totally different subject isnt it) here's some of the many images I shot in the last 2 days of my girls playing, posing and just having fun helping their Mom find her nitch again behind the camera!Hope everyone is doing well and remember, smile, it's Friday...the weekend is almost here!!!!

Many Blessings to everyone and their families!

Planning process...

seems to be never ending. Sometimes it gets so overwhelming trying to plan for the next school year when it involves 5 children at the same time. Doing it one by one seems to take forever and high expectations on my part doesnt seem to help.

Just wanting the kids to have the best school year possible is my major goal, keeping them on track in learning and making sure they learn what's needed, especially the older ones since they're in the High School levels. College is just around the corner and there's transcripts to think about, it just tends to get a little crazy.

I think the fact our oldest is now in her Senior year doesnt help, there's so much more to think about for her this year than before. Knowing this is her last year schooling with us and then before we know it she'll be gone off to college. Also trying to make sure everything is in order for her applications, all of our "T's" crossed and "I's" dotted is something I stress over when it comes to her and her future.

I know while I'm writing this and wondering if I'll ever get everything planned and organized before the school year starts for us that the Lord is going to help us work it all out. His guidance is what brought us to our homeschooling decision and it will also be what gets us thru the tough times, the doubtful times, the stressful times and onto another year under our belt with success!

Keeping our prayer life vigilant, keeping the Lord first in our lives, all things will work out according to his plan. So while I spend the never ending hours planning the school year ahead I will keep my eyes upon the Lord and his wisdom and guidance, because without him we are nothing and with him all things are possible!

Independence Day...

A new month as we are now in July and with that comes the celebration of Independence Day. The day our country declared it's "independence" this day means the same to all people of our country, yet means so much more to a certain group of people as well.

The group of people I speak of are all the military families scattered around the world. They are from all different walks of life and are a group of which I belong. To a military family Independence Day is more of a reality than to most people. Most people look at the celebration of this day as celebrating something of the past, to a military family it's a celebration of something that is very much in the present times of their lives because their husbands or wives are literally fighting for the very freedoms of which we declared and fought for so long ago.

Fighting for those same freedoms and more are what our military men and women are doing this very day in far away lands and to them I wish to extend my greatest graditude and prayers that they will all come home safe and sound from their tours of duty.

This year my family will be able to celebrate this day with our service member (my husband & my kids Dad) but we know there will again come a day when he wont be around as duty will call him away, so we are thankful that he's here this year.

So while your celebrating with fireworks and patriotic hymns and songs, please remember in your hearts and minds those who are far away from their families continuing to fight for your right to celebrate such an important day in our country, for without them there would be no celebration!

Happy Independence day from my family to yours!