Photo Shoot Giveaway!!

 I just wanted to let you guys know that I am having a giveaway for a FREE photo session and print package over on my business website! Check it out here! 
The contest will run until February 4th with the winner announced no later than February 11th, 2012!
Head on over and enter!  Good luck! 

FIVE

 Today my baby turns 5.

 

My baby boy is 5.

 

He. Is. Five.

It doesn’t matter how many times I say this out loud or to myself, it just doesn’t seem to be real. I seriously cannot believe how quickly time has passed. It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant and waiting to finally meet him.

But the last 5 years have been filled with so many fun, amazing memories. And I couldn’t have asked for a better child! He is smart, funny, witty, caring and sweet. 

 

Man, I just love this kiddo. And I can't wait to get home to celebrate his birthday with him!!

 

 Happy Birthday Caleb!!!

My parenting list

My son's birthday is coming up. And it's his 5th. Over the next year he will start at a new school. He will continue to grow both emotionally & physically and become more mature. He will need me less and try more things on his own.

He is on his way to developing into the man that he eventually will become. Over the past few months I have been carefully watching my baby grow into a little boy. He has strong opinions and loves reading and learning. He is sweet and kind and loving...he is oh so very loving. Hearing his sweet voice from the backseat of the car say out of the blue "mommy, I wuv you." well...that just melts me and makes me want to freeze that moment to replay over and over again. Especially when I'm having a bad day. And I am proud of him...so very, very, proud.

Over the last few months, I have found myself writing little notes in my cell phone about things that I want to make sure that my son knows. Things that I want to make sure that he learns about...a list of things that I really believe that if he learns as a child will make him into an absolutely wonderful man when he's an adult. It's not a complete list by any means. And it's not the list that will fit every child. But it consists of things that I believe are important.

1) Getting dirty is ok. It's why god made showers and the washing machine. Plus it's one way that I know that you have had as much fun as possible doing something!

2) Don't be afraid to love or afraid to tell people that you love them. And your father and I hope to hear those words come from you in our direction often.

3) It's alright to show emotion. And it's alright to talk about how you feel. I will do my best to help you learn how to do this. Being a good communicator will help you go a long way when you are an adult. And your future spouse will thank me.

4) Hugging is good—actually it's expected in our home. I know that out in the real world that physical touch is not always acceptable, but when you care about someone one of the best ways to show them is by touch…and hugs are one of the best way to do that.

5) Asking why is always acceptable. And I will always do my best to answer with a "real" answer, not just a "because I say so." When I don't know the answer I will find it, with you right by my side.

6) Don't be afraid to be goofy or silly - There are times that we just need to dance to get the silly's out of our system!! (And I LOVE our dance party Sundays!!)

7) Helping mommy or daddy is always appreciated. It's how you will learn how to do things…like fixing things, building stuff, cooking, laundry and dishes. It's one of the things that will help you to be an amazing man and husband in the future.

8) I will always be your cheerleader. For your wins and your losses. I will keep scrapbooks of your life and show them to your prom date. I will brag about you to my friends and on my blog. I will post photos of you on Facebook and I will be there for you every step of the way…cheering you on in your life.

9) You will lose sometimes and it's not the end of the world. Regardless of what other people say, not everyone is a winner at everything. There will be times when you will lose, but your daddy and I will always be there for you. You won't be alone and we will always figure out how to learn from that loss and what to do better next time. And we will teach you to never give up. Never. Ever. Give. Up.

10) We will travel together and see this beautiful world. Your daddy and I will do our best to give you the chance to explore places, both near and far. We might not get to everywhere we want to, but the places that we will go too will help us to make special memories together. And travelling will open your eyes to what this amazing beautiful world has to offer.

11) Your father and I will always be your home base. We will be a solid rock on which you can always land. We will be there at your sporting events, will come to your class parties, we will be there when you call out for us.

   

"Love"ly photos!

Back in August we had some family photos taken. And mind you...having your family photos taken in August in Phoenix in NOT easy. And the fact that it rained overnight and in the early morning before our photo shoot made for some wonderfully humid sweaty weather! But we prevailed and I was so happy with the results. I've been meaning to share them on here...mostly because I almost never ever post photos of myself. But this is a new year...and it's all about reconnecting, right? 

  The photos were taken by the talented Justine Miller from Mesa, Arizona. And I just LOVE how they turned out. (yes...pun intended!!) They were taken in Scottsdale at Scottsdale Civic Plaza where this wonderful sculpture is. And now I want to take some of my own clients here...especially for an engagement shoot!

Project Reconnect 2012

I decided NOT to do a list of New Year resolutions for 2012. Instead I have created project for myself…Project Reconnect 2012. I decided that this year I would try my hardest to reconnect with others. Over the past year between my depression and beginning my own business I have lost touch…lost touch with friends and family. But most importantly I’ve lost touch with myself.

This year will be about reconnecting with old friends. Trying to mend fences that were broke down from my lack of attention. Friendships only work when there are two people to work on them…and I have been lacking in my attention. I am not close to my family and over the years my friendships have helped to fill that void for me. But battling depression has made this difficult. It is like I have been a bear in hibernation…instead of me just crawling away to sleep though a season, I have been away for almost a year. I have hidden out and when I do have energy I have given all of that energy to my new business.

But I need more than just a business to make me feel whole. I need confidants. I need people that trust me and that I can trust. I need girlfriends that I can get silly and drunk with. I need friends that accept me as who I am and love me. But I need to reconnect and put more effort into it if I expect to be able to get any of these things back into my life. 

(I have also been lucky to have a few girlfriends that have stuck with me along the way...the deep dark way that is depression. And I am thankful for them. More than words can even begin to express...without their love, support and friendship I could not have made it through the past year. To you gals I love you more than you could ever know. Thank you for being there for me to cry on your shoulders and thank you for helping to pick me up when I fall.)

I also need to reconnect with myself. I need to take more of an active role in living my life. I need to work on me. I will do better at putting myself together more. Taking more pride in my appearance…I truly believe that looking good will help me to feel good about myself. Over the past few weeks I have worked on cleaning out my closet and getting rid of my grubby, slouchy, lounge around clothes. I found myself wearing them day in and day out…and because I was wearing them it was so much easier to just stay at home and lounge around. I didn’t want to go out looking like I rolled out of bed, so it was just another excuse to just stay home and hibernate.

I need to cook more meals at home. Not because I am setting a goal of loosing weight, but because I LOVE to cook at home. It’s something that makes me so very happy. I love creating new dishes to share with friends and neighbors. I love creating delicious sweets that I can bring to work. It is a way to get me back to being me. But I also think that cooking more meals at home will also be a great way to get some much-needed family time. Time for my husband, son and I to sit down together, break bread and talk. Talk and decompress from the day’s stresses. And we can reconnect.

I also will be reading more. I love to read. I love to learn. And I have missed it. I love getting lost in a novel…connecting with characters, letting my imagination get away from me. It is something that I long to do again and I will. But as I said I also love to learn and I will be reading books on things that I want to learn how to do or how to do better.

And I also will take more time to blog and reconnect with my blogging friends. Because I have learned that blog friends are real. Some of the only people that I have managed to not loose over the last year were some amazing blog friends. My girls Laura and Branson have been wonderful about checking in on me and keeping up on what’s going on. And I truly appreciate them for that. But I also want to reconnect with some of the other wonderful women that I have “met” online that I let slide on by because I wasn’t present enough.

But I am back. I will be baking and posting recipes. I will be talking more about my life, my family, my job…my hopes and dreams. And sharing photos along the way. I also will be better about visiting other bloggers and commenting instead of just lurking on their blogs. Its time for me to start joining in on the conversations and stop just standing in the corner observing everyone.

But blogging for me is also a wonderful creative outlet. I LOVE writing and for me blogging is almost like keeping a journal. It’s a way for me to get out what I am feel and thinking and share it with others. It is a way for me to get back to myself…the myself that I love. The one that is happy and outgoing. The me that is fun and loving. And I miss that part of myself. So in 2012 I will be working on reconnecting both with my friends but also with myself.

So here’s to 2012!! And the start of Project Reconnect…