My Favorite Places

Yay!!! I made another page!

 

Ok, so I added another page. If you look up at the top of this blog, you will notice some new tabs, off to the right side. I am going to start adding some of my favorite places on the net! Woohoo!! And also, as you can tell, I had to design the blog too. There were a lot of HTML issues with the old design, so I decided to give the blog a little facelift. :) Now, under each post it says "0 comments"..... if you click on that, you can start leaving comments. With this layout, I can not add the comment boxes, so this will do for now. :) So, have a look, and leave me some comments!! :) Comments make me happy! lol. And keep checking back, as I will be adding some more of my favorite places over the next week. Happy blogging!!

A Good Week So Far......

Hello everyone!! So, I finally decided to sit down for a few minutes. lol. I love when I can lay Haley down for a nap, Jay is at school, Drew is at work, and it's just me, my computer, and some music. :) Lovin it!! Haha

So far, this has been a really good week. Nothing dramatic happening, and descent weather. Of course, it's only the middle of March, which means tornado season, but so far everything is nice here. We had some rain last night, but it's been around 70* and sunny most of the week. And with everything that has happened in the family over the last 2 months, this week is almost too good to be true. But hopefully everything is looking up for us. :)

Sunday, we had a big day!! :) Drew's aunt got married!! Yay!! She and her now husband have been together for 8 years! And they are the sweetest people. We love them so much! So, needless to say, I was SUPER excited when she asked me to do all of her photos, and for Haley to be her flower girl! We had so much fun! We had to drive 2 hours to the location, (they live in a different city than us) , but it was a gorgeous day! Perfect for a Spring wedding! The church was an old, rock church, 1 room, maybe 20 rows of seats, stained glass windows, old stone floors, gorgeous!!! And P looked GORGEOUS in her dress! She is an amazing woman, and has been through so much in her life, and I was so happy to see her so excited and in love. :) Here is a photo from the wedding.....

Aren't they just adorable!!?!!!?! This was one of my favorite shots of them.... of course all of them were adorable! :) We love you guys!!!!

So, then after the wedding, we headed back, and stopped by my Mom's to pick up my sister. We hadn't seen her in a few weeks, and she is currently out of school for Spring break, so it was the perfect time to have her come stay with us for a few days. So, on Tuesday, the weather was yet again PERFECT for photos! Haley's Nana ended up wanting to keep her for a few hours, so Liv and I headed out for a few photos. :) If you know me..... you know that perfect sunny day+beautiful sister= PHOTOS!!! lol We had so much fun! We ended up taking some angel wings I had bought a couple of years ago, and just went driving around. Stopped at a couple of places, and here are a couple of shots I got of her......

Isn't she gorgeous!?!! I love taking photos of her, because she is so natural, and isn't afraid to try new things for photos. We had so much fun! And we just got to spend some "sister time" out together.

Also, on another note, about 2 weeks ago.... My Brother graduated from Navy bootcamp!!! Yay!!! We are SOOOO proud of him! My Mom, Sister, Grandma, and Grandpa drove up to Illinois to attend his graduation (only 4 people were allowed to go, but there's no way my kids could have rode in a car for 9+ hours, AND sit quietly through a graduation anyways.... lol) They had a wonderful time, and I think my Mom needed to get away for a few days anyways, and spend some time with my brother. After his graduation, he got to spend an entire day with them, and here is a photo my Mom took while they were there......

This is my brother, and my Grandpa. We are so proud of you Kevin!

He will be spending another 8 months in Illinois for training, and then we don't know from there, but we miss him greatly... and can't wait to see him again. We love you Kev!!

Oh! And as you can tell, I re-designed the blog site. I spent some time looking through things last night to kind of give it a more "me" feel.... and I am going to be adding to it a little more this weekend. So be on the lookout for some new things. :) Cause you all know me... I won't stop until it's perfect! lol

 

What a crappy month.....

Ok, so it's been well over a week since my last blog post. Everything seems to be happening all at once at this point, with no end in sight. Oh, what a crappy month February was.

First off, let me start off on the topic of photography. Well, there has been no photography on my end for about 2 weeks now. Between the weather, kids, and family situations, there hasn't been enough time. I started, about 2 weeks ago, to try to catch some lightening shots. Apparently, my camera does NOT take pictures in the dark, pointed at a dark sky, and nothing but a street light to focus on. It won't even TRY to take a picture. So I sat there, in the cold, huddled between my back door, and the door frame, trying to get my camera to quit acting up. Granted, this wasn't the best night for lightning shots anyways, because there were only about 4 lightning strikes that night. And they were about 20 minutes apart from one another. But I still tried. I tried every setting, changed my ISO settings, changed flash settings, everything. And I could sit there and hold down the button to take the picture, and the camera would just try to focus (on absolutely nothing I remind you) and would never do anything else. And before you start wondering.... no, I have not yet read the book that came with my camera, but it is starting to sound like a good idea at this point. BUT I did however come across a great website called  http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/ a while back, and decided to check it out again. Amanda and Kevin are a married couple, and are absolutely adorable! Amanda is always posting blogs about cool designing ideas, photos, and food. So I went back to their website last night, and stumbled upon a blog she posted about photography. (http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/page/4) <~~~there is the link straight to the blog I am talking about. And I learned SOOOO much about settings in different environments! If your a new photographer like myself, I highly suggest this site for tips and tricks. AND she posts a lot of blogs about food ideas, and travel. It's awesome!! And, I put a widget from their site on the top right corner of this page. :)

So anyways. I am hoping to get out this weekend and get some new pictures. Of course, I also need to "figure" out how to get some people together and help me get a laptop, and a new lens for my camera. I am currently working with the basic lens for my camera, and it is only a 3.5-5.6/18-55 SAM lens. So.... not very professional. Basically, I have to get no more than 10 feet or so away from the subject I am photographing, or it gets pixelated when printed. :P ok.... I have ranted about photography long enough.... now onto a not so fun topic.....

Last Monday, as I was taking my son to school, little did I know, that something horrible had happened the night before. My husband called me on my cell phone, and told me that his Grandfather had passed away in his sleep. And of course, driving in the car with a 7 year old, Jay wanted to know what Drew was saying, because the immediate look on my face was that of complete loss, and sadness. So I had to tell Jay what was going on. And the first thing out of his mouth was "What!? Why does God keep taking everyone's Grandpas away!" (just 3 weeks earlier, he had lost his Nanu.... letter to Steve was also posted on here) But in this case, he was 84, and had lived a long and healthy life, and we kind of knew it wouldn't be much longer for him, although, we weren't expecting it this soon. He never said anything about feeling bad (except the complaints about arthritis, but that's to be expected at 84!), he wasn't sick, he had went to church that morning, and came home with his wife, and they had their typical day. But after going to bed that night, he had passed away in his sleep. (details will not be posted on here, because the family wouldn't want that, and neither do I) We rushed to the hospital, after I dropped Jay off at school, and saw his wife, and 2 children. His wife looked lost. We got to see him, and then left with the family, and headed back to their house to try to figure out what to do next. And planning a funeral is something I have NEVER done.... so it was strange for me to be there, and help get everyone through it. By the time the funeral came around.... I was there every step of the way. I felt like I had to be there to support my husband more than anything, and of course the rest of the family. Pa loved life, loved his kids, grandkids, and even got to spend time with his 3 great-grandkids, Jaylin, Haley, and Kaidon. And he loved those great-grandkids more than anything!! He and his wife would take Haley 1 time a week, and keep her for the day. And the first thing he would say as we walked into the house is "Haley, you ready to go get a frosty!?!" (They always took her to Wendy's every week to get her chicken nuggets, french fries, and a chocolate frosty) And as soon as he said that.... she was ready for me to leave! lol. And when the funeral came around, we thought it was important to let Haley see her Pa, and we told her "Pa is sleeping. He needs to sleep for a while" And she seemed to understand, but the sight of her Pa in a casket scared the crap out of her. She kept saying "I scared of Pa in his box!" and wouldn't let me get to close to the casket while I held her. It was one of the hardest things I had to do.... show my daughter her Grandpa, and try to tell her that he can't wake up. It completely tore me up. Here is a picture of Tom and Haley when Haley was only a few months old:

Tom and Haley

We will miss him dearly, but we know he's watching over us and the kids. :)

On another note.... along with the funeral, we had to worry about other family stresses. And the funeral was the LAST place that dirty looks, whispers around the room, and ignorance were needed or expected. I was there for my family, but obviously other "people" there weren't. It is quite sad really, how far things have gone with certain people in the family, but I honestly tried my hardest to make things better. But my efforts have always been quickly shot down, and stepped on. We have been mistreated, called out, called names, ignored at times, banned from seeing children, made fun of, talked very rudely to and about, my children have been abandoned by these people, disrespected, ignored, and more. At times, I have told Drew that I just give up. And quite honestly, I feel like that alot when it comes to these people. I have a panic attack everytime I even think about them, let alone see them. That's even worse. My heart just aches. And everyone tells me to just let it go, and ignore it all.... but I can't do that. It's not in me, and I won't let it go as long as my children are the ones being hurt the worst. I just hope they are happy that they broke such a wonderful family in two. Karma.



Another Week........

Well, it's Sunday night. I made it through another week. lol. Last Friday, my good friend Amanda and I took our kids out for a much needed play date. Her daughter is about 1 1/2 months older than Jaylin, and they get along great! We took them to a fenced in play area, and let them play, and then took a few photos. They are absoluetely adorable together, and have a lot of fun together. They go to different schools, so it's hard for them to get together too often. I took some old books that Drew had, and just started taking photos. Of course, the kids are only 7 years old, so we have to really hound them about taking pictures. lol. But they did really good, and they had a lot of fun. Here 2 of the photos they took :

Jaylin and Katie

Aren't they adorable!??! Katie's Mom and I have known eachother since kindergarten, so when the kids get together, we get to catch up and have "Mommy Time". :) It's always a lot of fun watching these 2 play, and getting to spend some time with such a great friend of mine. :)

Then, on Sunday, we went to my Mamma's house. We try to go every weekend, but between the weather changing from minute to minute, a horrible stomach bug that took over our house 2 weeks ago, Drew getting randomly called into work, and being completely exhausted from the week of non-stop torture my kids dish out for me, it's kinda hard. lol. But anyways, on the way up there last Sunday, we decided to try to find the old home place that my Mamma's parents lived in. And we found it! Everything was still pretty much intact, minus a few windows that had been busted by idiots that thought there was something of value inside the house. And I started to remember bits and pieces from the times I had been there. The old outhouse was still standing, the old well was still there, everything. It was gorgeous with the sea of wheat in the fields in front of the house! We will definantly be going back to take a few more pictures. ;) Here is the house as it looks today.........

Ma & Pa Stamps' House

Basically, the rest of last week was uneventful after Sunday..... UNTIL yesterday!! :) Yesterday was my son's last basketball game. :( I am going to miss seeing him every weekend on the court, scoring points, and just having fun. Upwards Basketball is one of the greatest things ever for kids! There is no scoring, (although, we do try to keep up with the points ourselves... lol) And after every game, and every practice, the kids meet up with their team and coaches where the coaches talk to each child about how well they did, and the kids get stars that we sew onto their shirt, based on the best defense, best offense, most Christ-like, good sportsmanship, and so on. Each kid is awarded a star, and praised on how well they did. It is a truly amazing program! Here is a memory from the last game :)

That's Jaylin with the ball, #11

And then, after the game, since my Sister and my Mom were in town, I decided to kidnap my Sister, and go out to take some pictures. She is truly a wonderful person to photograph. She knows how to pose, her expressions are always perfect, and of course, since she's my sister, I get a chance to aggrevate her a little, and we get to spend some "Sister time" together. I had a blast! The weather was great, the location was great, everything. And I took Drew with us, so we could get some pictures of she and I together. We had a great weekend, and hopefully there are many more wonderful photo sessions to come. :)

Olivia and I

Finally.......

Ok, so it's Sunday night, and I finally have time to sit down and do some random thought blogging. :) I started to do this a few days ago, but then  I decided my blog needed a new look.... so I spent 3 solid days looking through blog templates, before I found this one. Hope you all enjoy it. :) I thought it pretty much looked like me.... with a camera in hand. :)

First off....  it has been 2 weeks since my Step-Dad's funeral. It's so hard to believe that he is actually gone. And I think it hit me more yesterday, because Jay had a basketball game, and my Mom was the only one that got to come. Very strange. I kept having to try to make jokes with my Mom and Drew just to keep my mind off of Steve not being able to be there, and focus on the game. But things are slowly starting to get back to normal.... minus the man that made everything fun. I think it has hit me harder than I thought it ever would. I seem to be late for everything, I want to sleep more... and trying to get my photography off the ground seems to have been thrown on the back burner. I don't know. I just seem to have lost the drive to get out and meet people, or finish my website, or really anything like that. I don't know what it is. There are still so many things I need to do with it all, but I just don't have that motivation right now. All I seem to be doing is thinking about what needs to get done, but not actually ever getting around to it. I still need to finish the website, make and order business cards, search for props, get a larger lens for my camera, look around at laptops.... **sigh** the list just goes on and on. But enough about all that before I start crying.

On a brighter note, everyone in the house is finally over the horrible flu that took over our household. Thank Goodness!! That is the worst flu I think I have ever had. It took Haley about 8 days to completely get over. And she ended up giving it to me, and it put me out for about 4 days. Poor Drew was having to take care of both of us. Luckily, Jay only had it for 1 day, so I was thankful he got over it so quickly. And Drew never got it. :p And my dog decided that since Mommy was sick, she was going to lay with me on the couch 24/7 and be lazy, since I basically never moved the entire 4 days. lol. Silly Layla. :)

And yesterday... (I actually did go out and look around town for cool props.... but only for a little bit, then I got tired.. lol) I found this cool stuff at one of our local "junk" stores. I thought they were cool, and different. Hopefully soon, Drew and I can get out again and do some "prop bargain hunting" :) Here's what I found:

I loved the rustic metal look of the chest, and I thought the xylophone and the old children's book would be cute for kids' pictures. :) All in all, it was a good find for only 30 minutes of looking through a junk store. ;)

And thanks go to my Mom, for the other prop she brought me. I love it!!

Just Another Monday...

Well, Monday has seemed to show up again. The weather here is cold... and sometimes depressing. The weather man seems to never be accurate these days. So here I sit, day after day... being a wife, a mommy, and a photographer. I love my children more than anything in this world. But there are times when a Mom just needs to sit down at the computer and edit photos, as well as play the occasional FaceBook game, and do a little blogging. :)

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous for photos! The temperature outside was a little chilly, but the sun was out all day long! My husband, Myself, and my friend B decided to go out of town, and take some new photos of some waterfalls, as well as ourselves enjoying the scenery. I cannot express how beautiful it was in words. There was still snow on the ground, we had the sun popping through the trees. There was still ice on the rocks and in the water. Gorgeous!! Here is one of the photos I took yesterday....

And yes.... we even walked to the bottom of the falls! It was amazing to see how much these Falls had changed since we went there in the Fall.

So after our long outing, we came back home, and I decided to work a little on my website, as well as upload my new photos from the day. I have to say... I was excited to see them on the computer (as I have a nice big computer screen, and can see more of the details on here than I can on my camera screen). As I am just a new photographer, I have only been able to take photos of people in my family, and friends as well. And B is amazing at posing for photos! She has been a good friend of mine for about 2 years now. She has stood by my side through all of the good times, and the not so good. She is truely an amazing friend, and I am so glad that she is in my life :) Here is a photo I captured of her yesterday....

I love this photo of her!! (Thank you again for going with us B!!)

As you can see, we had a lot of fun yesterday. Can't wait to do it again. :)

Dear Steve,

Yesterday, we heard the aweful new of your passing. I must say, it will never ever be the same without you.
I am extremely glad that we all got to sit with you those last few days in the hospital, talk about the old days with the kids, and I got to hear Nana tell funny stories about you and Laura. I knew that you weren't feeling too well on Wednesday, but we were all praying that you would make it through everything, like you always do. I am so sorry that this was one fight that you couldn't win. We made sure to bring Jaylin with us yesterday to see you one last time, of course, I am sure you knew we were all there. Poor Jay has been trying to stay so strong, but I know he will fall apart when Sunday gets here. You meant the world to him, and I am so glad that Mom brought you into our family!

I told you once before, but I will tell you once again. You made Mom the happiest she has ever been! And I mean that! I have seen her smile, and laugh, and love more than I ever have in my whole life. She loves you so much! We all do. I always told Drew how you coming into our lives was truly a blessing. Our family has been brought back together because of you, and I want to thank you for that.

And I will make sure to let Nana know, that even though you can't be here with us, she, Nanu, and Laura will ALWAYS be our family. I will never let them slip away from us.

Also, I am sorry that Kevin can't be here right now. But I know you would want him to stay where he is, and not make a fuss about you. I talked to him yesterday, and Mom did too, and he loves you very much. He said he would be here if he could, but with him still being in Naval bootcamp, he can't leave. But we will all be with him when he gets home, and I know you will watch over him while he is away.

For me, I just want you to know how much we are going to miss you. It is truly amazing that Mom found such a wonderful man. And I have such great respect for you for making the move out here to Tennessee, away from your family, to be with the love of your life. And I know we aren't the best family when it comes to hugs, and kisses, and all that, but I had to just hug Mom yesterday, and all I could say was "It's not fair Mom! It's just not fair!" And it isn't. You did nothing but love everyone around you, and put a smile on everyone's faces that you met. But I guess they needed you where your at now, more than they needed you here. You made a difference in so many peoples lives, even though you were only here for a short time.

Please keep a close watch on the kids from up there. You have a better view than I do. Make sure you keep them guided in the right direction. I told Jaylin you will always be with him, and it was ok to be sad, and it was ok to be mad. And I think he is starting to accept things. I know that you will always be watching his basketball games, and everything he does as he grows up. When he gets older, and gets married, I will make sure to save you a seat at the wedding. As for Haley, she is going to be completely lost when she starts seeing her Nana come through the door, and your not right there with her. But when she is old enough to understand, we will let her know how much you loved her. I promise you that. Please send her sweet dreams, and keep watch over her too. 

I will leave you now, but I will not say goodbye. This is not a goodbye, and I refuse to let it be that. This is "until we see you again". I know that you are in good hands, and we will make it through this. We miss you greatly, and we will see you later. 

We love you!!! 

Christmas 2010