Pets, pets & more pets

When I photograph a family, I can't leave the 4-legged kids out. To me, they are just as much part of a family as the 2-legged one's. Here are just a few I have photographed over this last year, they may be repeat photos but this post is dedicated to our unconditional BFF's. Remember Sugar, she was in previous photos with her family. There is also a cat named Cookie but she was harder to capture.

Molly was so cute & so full of play.

Chevy is a young beautiful horse & really need more pics of. He was a typical teenager when I photographed him, he didn't want to listen to any calls or noises we made so we could get his ears pointed forward. The lesson here is that I learned what didn't work.

Introducing Tomo & Peaches. Tomo is a chocolate lab.

Doesn't Peaches look so cute in her little sweater.

We rescued this kitten from a litter born under our house. She was the last one we found a home for & almost kept her but Jack decided it was funner to chase her around the house. We didn't want to find out what he would do if he ever caught her.

The Dog Days of...

It's raining cats & dogs right now, so I decided to work on some posts dedicated to them. This first post goes to my "dookies" (that's what we call our 4-legged kids), Jack & Missy. "Just look at that face." First up, we have sweet little Missy that we adopted from a local animal shelter. She was the saddest thing I ever seen & knew she needed the abundance of Jons love so she could trust again. We adopted her July 2008, she was about 6 months old. She was a perfect match & Jon still spoils her to this day but she deserves it.

Summer 2008. She used to get a little obsessed (which really means a lot obsessed) over this piece of carpet. I think there was a lizard on it once, she started pouncing on it & wouldn't stop. Every day, every night...No kidding, we didn't think she ever slept cause we weren't. She would get this high pitched bark during her constant pouncing parties. After initially thinking it was cute & weeks later, we finally took the carpet away but still catch her doing it on a fluffy surface every so often. Can you say obsessive compulsive?

She about 1-1/2 years old in the photo above, she had both raw hides (she stole her brother Jack's) & would show her teeth if he came near her. He was still young & didn't realize he was 2 times her size so she was enjoying it while she could. We finally had to give Jack another one, he was about 6 months old in photo below.

These last few are recent since this Winter & she doesn't look any bigger than when we first got her, just a little taller. She's such a good girl now. She used to get out of the kennel & when she would run our property, she would jump up out of the brush like a rabbit, so flipping hilarious. Now she jumps up to see in our bedroom window. I can't catch her in a photo though, it's just a blur, she is so fast, so I got one on the ground outside our window instead.

Aren't kids so sweet when they're sleeping, the same goes for our 4-legged kids. When she's not resting, she's off to the races. She runs this track she created in their kennel. She runs it rain or shine, day or night. We really need to finish that front yard fence or get some sheep, it's turning into another obsession.

Notice all the rocks on the side of the fence, Jack tends to break out now & loves to run in the front yard. He just chews through the wire attaching the bottom fencing to the pole...Yes chews it, then pushes his way through to escape. Now we have to concrete the kennel, but we love him just the same & want him to stay safe. Missy would simply squeeze between areas to escape, I think she's part grey hound, she's so skinny & tall.

See, Just look at that face, she's so innocent...or is she?!

When the carpet obsession wasn't going well for Missy, we decided to get her a little (big) brother. Jack sure loves her but with all siblings, it's a struggle sometimes for Missy. When they're puppies, they're so cute...

...then you start to wonder if they're bred with a Saint Bernard. He's got to be 100 lbs easy & doesn't realize how big he is. He is now king of the raw hide treats, hogging them all but he doesn't show his teeth to Missy, he loves her...especially when it's treat time.

He carries his bowl around after he finishes each meal. His entire mouth just encompasses the bowl & this pictures doesn't do any justice. He has been doing this since he was a puppy, funny stuff I tell you. So we trained him to hand it to us from the bedroom window so we can fill it up easier.

The photo below is him peeking through the bedroom window. The window is open so you can see him better but when I wake up some mornings, this is all I see. Sometimes Missy will be jumping up on the other side of him so she can see through the window too. It's funny to see this now, but not so funny the first couple times it happened.

He really is such a good boy but still such a puppy. He's about 1 yr old in these photos which are just weeks ago. Every time I see a puppy, I think of him & they're not so cute anymore. He escaped again just the other night & we still can't find one of my shoes that was on the front porch. Now I'm hoping we DON'T find it.

AAAHHHH, Just look at that face!

And those are our dookies. I will do another post with the pets from previous sessions so stay tuned & it's Matt's 11th B-day coming up soon so I'll have to post his B-day fun.

Gavin needs our prayers, for Natalie Norton

I have never done this before but I am sending out a prayer request for an amazing mother Natalie Norton & her 8 week old baby boy Gavin. She is a photographer based out of Oahu, Hawaii & I have been viewing her blog for last 6 months or so. Her little Gavin is currently fighting for his life & "momma bear" is fighting with the strength of Jesus hoping to see a miracle. I believe in miracles & I believe Natalie's strength & belief that he will survive these rare difficulties & that's why I'm sending this out to the Prayer Warriors I know. I'm not sure how people do those links with names so I'm just sending her blog link my way... http://www.natalienortonphoto.com/ Please send them your prayers. God is truly amazing so let's show Natalie, her husband Richie & their 3 other boys that miracles can come true. Thank you so much. I didn't want to send this post without a picture, so here is a group prayer going out to Gavin.

Blasts from the past

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."--Maya Angelou.

This is me when I was 20 holding Richie (which he is now almost 21 years of age).

My Santa this year was thinking from the heart & gave me the coolest gift ever (I think I say that every year)...a negative scanner, it converts your film negatives into digital files so they can be saved on your computer. I sat down & started using it this last weekend & enjoyed seeing some blasts from my past. LSS, we had a minor flood in our laundry room (where I was storing my priceless box of negatives) during this last single digit temp freeze & some old negatives from mine & my childrens childhood, were damaged. The negatives are colored funky due to the water & have some splotchy spots but you can see the image, which is most important. So, as I was scanning the photos, I had realized how much my kids have grown & how I didn't do so bad catching them in moments that I can embarrass them in for the many years to come (insert evil laugh here). When your child does something, you think you will remember it forever but as I viewed these photographs, I realized how much I forgot...The look on Richie's face knowing he's too old to sit on Santa's lap but doing it for the sake of his little sister. Marissa being potty trained & falling asleep in the process. How young I looked when Richie was a toddler & how Matthew loved his own reflection (but didn't know it was him, he was kissing the "other" baby). I realized how much I needed to be in the photos for my kids, to have memories of me being there too. For just over the last 2 years, (since finding my happiness) I have realized how important I am to others & not just taking up space in their lives. A New Years Resolution isn't always how much a persons appearance can be altered but how their soul can be transformed. I am going to take more pics of me, so when I look back 10 years (or if it's my children viewing them), I don't see myself as I AM, but as I WAS & time goes by so fast so there's no telling what the next 10 years holds for me. Having my pic taken isn't easy for me, it's totally out of my comfort zone but isn't that what a new beginning is supposed to be about. This is one of mine. I will post more pics when I'm finished scanning. Over 20 years in negatives is a lot to scan & at times I can't stop crying or laughing (or both) at the memories & what they hold for me & my heart. Wow, what an awesome gift honey.

I can say this gift is how IT "made me feel", & how Jon makes me feel. Thank you Jon. Thank you for always showing how much you care about my happiness. I love you more than you will ever know (but I think you have an idea).