Finding the light

We currently live in a rental.  I haven't done much for decorating.  As a whole it isn't a pretty background for photos.  I got stuck in a rut because I don't want to drag the kids out to try and find the perfect spot to take their photos and honestly they wouldn't do that anyways.  In order for me to take their pictures I have to capture them doing their thing and work with whatever kind of light I can.   Which to be honest I love more than staged photos anyways.  This has also challenged me to use light in a way I hadn't before.  I have become a little obsessed with light and shadows and am constantly watching the way it changes during the day in our house.  I am by no way a professional photographer and would probably be laughed at if I tried to play with the pros but I love it and work with what I have.  My camera is nothing fancy but I make it work!

The other day Cici was sitting at the dining room playing with dinosaurs.  All the blinds were closed but the little light that was coming was hitting the side of her face slightly.  I knew it wasn't enough to capture in the photo but I wanted to capture it similarly to how I was seeing it.  I needed open light so that I could actually see her but I still wanted the light coming in from the side.  Here is a pull back of what the room looked like (and how messy my house is)

You can see the little bit of light on her shirt.  I wanted to keep light coming in from that side and keep the shadows it was creating.  I kept the blinds closed in the large window and the window to the right and used the left window and our sliding doors as my light sources.

I sat across from her and sat the camera on the table (you can see it in the above photo).  And just watched her play!!  They are used to me constantly taking their pictures so she kept on like I wasn't there.  I want to remember all of this because they are literally growing up before my eyes.

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Changing things up

I constantly feel this need to be creative.  It's just part of who I am.  I love to craft, sew, take photos and do anything else that allows me to be creative.  I tried my 'a grace filled mess blog' and really enjoyed but felt I was missing something.   Then I thought I would just focus on photography and blog about that but I felt like I had to keep that to photography and not add my personal stuff and missed writing about that part of my life.  So... I decided that i am going to completely re-do my original blog and include everything that makes me me.  DIY, crafting, photography, life, Jesus, hard times, mommin', being a wifey and whatever else I feel like sharing.  I have been away from the blogging world for a while and am a do it myself girl so I am playing with the look of the blog and trying to learn how the backside of creating a blog works.  This gives me a fun new project to work on in between working full time, being a wife and raising 4 littles too grown up, kids.  So I should have plenty of time right??

This past year I have made it a goal to take photos on a regular basis because I really wasn't sure what my style was.  I mean I have had certain photographers that I follow and love their work and thought maybe that was my style but it felt like I was trying to mimic instead of finding what made my work mine.  

A couple things that I learned:

I love dramatic lighting.

I love black and white.

I love my children.  JK ya'll, I already knew that!

I really feel that I am seeing the direction that I want my photos to go and the story I want them to tell.  Even if they don't speak to anyone else they give me the feels and that is what I am trying to accomplish.  Capturing moments the way that I see them.  Here is a little glimpse of my most recent favorites.

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The need to write...

Wow, so i have not been on here in AGES!!!  I feel like i have so much going on right now and have so much i want to share!  Nothing that will probably make anyones life change but just stuff.  We are right in the middle of one of the busiest times of our lives.  DANCE recital prep.  I have 3 girls in dance and it can get overwhelming.  I am one of the crazies who actually thrives off of stuff like this.  I adore doing my girls hair and make up for the dance pics and recital i just wish i was better at time management.  I end up not giving myself enough time and running short and dive deep into panic mode.  Enough on my lack of ability to tell time and on to something much better, a picture of my oldest with her besties before one of the pics today.

(mine is the lovely in the middle)

Another thing that is for sure worth mentioning is that i have the best friends in the world.  I have to say that they probably top all.  They took my out last night for post birthday celebration.  I won't say how old i am i will just say that it rhymes with fwenty neight… so if you can figure that out then you might be able to guess my age.  

We went out to one of those grill the food in front of you Japanese steakhouses, A-MAZING.  And then starbucks and Target.  What can i say it doesn't take much to entertain these days.  Me and my sista from another mista thought it would be a fun time to try on swimsuits in anticipation for summer… well if you ever want to get motivation for getting ready for that swimsuit just go to Target, their mirrors are the best for pointing out everything that looks disgusting, so that was a great reminder that i am getting older and have a "few" areas to tone up before summer.  I have completely given up on the false idea that perfection is attainable which is a struggle for me (sung in a Christina Aguilera voice) I AM BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY.  

And a great ending note for today is the WEATHER!  I am currently sitting by an open window with a pre storm breeze flowing thru sipping on a glass of ice tea…  hey maybe i am turning into a country girl!  All days aren't this great and my life is not always beautiful and easy but i take it as it comes and trust the Lord to bring me thru all the good and ugly.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me."  Jeremiah 29:11-12

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Thanksgiving time w/ the fam

Today we are heading to KS to spend the holiday with our family!!  I couldn't be any more excited.  We have been super busy lately.  I got all my fall decor down and am so excited to decorate for Christmas.  This is probably going to sound horrible but I am sure I am not the only one.  I am kind of anal about the Christmas tree, i love decorating it with the kids but always find myself showing them where they should hang their ornament or moving them after they hang them and have left the room so it looks just right.  I did not want to do that this year.  I wanted them to have the tree just like they wanted it... so, we bought them a cute   little tree for the basement family room.  The kid's bedroom's are down there and they spend more time down there then upstairs so it is perfect.  I sat back and watched them do it all on their own (well, besides helping them put on the lights and some ribbon, they had a hard time with that).  The tree is completely their own and they LOVE it.  And momma has her very own Christmas tree upstairs to decorate just like i want.  I am so glad we did it.  I will post pictures later!  I am off to continue getting ready for our trip south!

I will leave you with a picture of my window :)  I love the twinkling lights!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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I'm back!

Wow!  It has been a long time since I have written anything on here.  Been busy!  Things are slowing down now that summer is over.  Cannot believe i am saying that... summer is over!  I am usually not excited for summer to be over but this year i am so ready for fall.

I had forgotten how therapeutic it is to write.  I am stay at home mommy/wife kinda, i work full time from home also.  This IS my outlet.  I spend a lot of time by myself.  And it is great to get all of my thoughts out there!

Where to even begin with what life is throwing at us right now.  Well for starters, the snakes are back!  I thought we had for sure gotten rid of them.  BUT i am certain that the same momma snake from last year is back with her babies.  Remember her?

Yep, looks the same!!  Me and the girls had an exciting day yesterday trying to get them out of our yard.  But of course as soon as my husband shows up they disappear.  Is this some kind of sick game they are playing on me??  My son loves the snakes though and spent an hour last night digging in their hole to try and find them.

I now have a potty trained 2 year old!  She potty trained herself when she was 2 years and 3months old.  I can honestly say she did it all on her own.  She showed me that if i pushed her she wasn't going to do it, but if i backed off she was perfectly capable.  And did i mention this happened all in the matter of ONE evening. Easiest child to potty train ever!

We have new family members,  last spring we bought bunnies!  The kids showed them at the fair this summer.  They loved every moment of it.

The girls started dance in August.  This has been a promise to them since we moved to Iowa.  ( 3 years ago :/ )  What else, what else, what else....  oh and a very proud momma moment, my 11 year was asked to be in the gifted program at school.  I am glad to see we have not completed failed as parents!  You know when you are wondering if you are doing a good job or not then things like that happen and you realize that you aren't miserably failing after all.  Great feeling.  Although i cannot take any pride in his smarts, he is just so naturally smart... kinda like his dad!

I think that is enough rambling to get me back in full swing blogging mode!  Off to my "me" time for the day.  Cici is napping and the treadmill is calling my name.

Laters!

 

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Sunshine you are my sunshine

Captured a sweet moment while she was playing with her pillowcase doll she made this summer.

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Waiting...

I hate waiting.  I am probably the most impatient person you will ever meet.  When i want something done i want it done right now.  If i have to depend on someone else to do it and it isn't being done within the time frame i want, i do it myself.

Since I had Chasley when i was 17 i decided that i should work instead of going to school after i graduated high school.  I wish i wouldn't have made that decision but i did and i am now paying for it.  Or am I?  For about the past year i have been driven crazy with the constant thoughts of "what am i going to do with my life??"   feeling like i am going to be stuck with a career that i would have never chosen.  And the thought of going to school overwhelms me because like many working mothers i think when will i have the time or the money to do that?  So now after a year of anxiety of no action on getting one step closer to what i want to do i have been wondering why God isn't showing me and giving me a way to accomplish this?  Like he is just supposed to hand it to me or something.  So then i start thinking well maybe i am not praying enough... or searching enough for what it is that i am supposed to do.  So i decided to pray about it more.  But just felt like i was talking but not really connecting or feeling God.  So i talked to my Hubby about it and he gave me some great advice.  He said "well maybe that is the problem... you are talking when you should be listening."  Hmmm... hadn't thought of it that way.  So now in this search of "what am i going to be when i grow up" i am really trying to listen for what it might be God is trying to show me.  Who knows maybe he is saying i have you right where you need to be right now.  :)

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