an update, finally.......

I have been slightly harassed by friends and family about neglecting my blog.....they want to see pictures and know what is going on in my life....so here goes (w/0 pictures, sorry).

I have been crazy busy being a wife, mother, and photographer! Yes, I did say "photographer"! I am jumping into this awesome world of photography with fear and excitement. I am excited because it really makes me feel alive and creative. I love capturing images of my children and freezing time in a photo. I love being with the people whom have given me the pleasure and honor of preserving memories for their families and being able to see the joy that that brings them, it melts my heart. I am so appreciative of my mentors (friends, family, photographer friends and all the wonderful artists who share their photographic view with the world). I love this learning process, and there is definitely a ton more I need to learn! It is amazing to me how much I truly miss the simplicity in my role as just wife and mother....for all the years that I have complained about it, shame on me! Fortunately, God has gifted me with such a wonderful, yes....most definitely wonderful husband who doesn't require me to work or not work (and to think of all these years that I have fought him on this matter, it humbles me), but instead has encouraged me to simply excel at what ever I choose to do. Now, as I juggle duty, honor and pleasure, I am trying to find the beauty in everyday activities sprinkled with photo sessions for work and for play--last week was quite drenched with work! I do have to admit that my fear comes from not wanting to come off as some kind of fraud or poser in the photography world so it has been very difficult to bring myself to share much of my "work" by posting the photos. I definitely know that there is a huge difference in photographers experience in skill levels and I openly admit that I am still very new at this. What once was to be only a hobby has blossomed into what I hope to be a lifelong journey, not a career, but rather a constantly pursued passion with consistent improvement and the ability to be apart of peoples lives, memories, futures, hearts...and inspiration! I don't know where this will all lead but I am here for the ride.

The boys have been growing up like weeds! Benjamin is becoming such a handsome young man...I don't recognize my little baby boy anymore. He can be such a gentleman it's no wonder the girls are so into him. He recently had a girl at school (his BFF) tell him that he had to stop being friends with another boy that she didn't like anymore, so he did what she asked and the next day undid it at the demands of Kenny and I! He makes me nervous but I believe God knew what he was doing by blessing me with a child so into girls so I am trusting Him that I will handle things in the best possible way. I miss the days of spending time with Ben as my little buddy, these days it is hard to remember to do just that with him. When we get those moments of alone time, that rush of emotion comes flooding in when he was little and so squeezable, now when I hug him I feel like time is slipping away because he feels so grown up. Elijah is my crazy little man, constantly full of energy, not stopping for a moment unless you have a book ready to read to him. He absolutely drives me nutty when he gets into bed with us EVERY night and hogs the bed, kicking off the covers and rubbing our skin raw! He has some kind of skin fetish, he literally will blindly reach over and under covers and anything else that gets in his way to find skin to rub. This may initially come off as a cute trait but I becomes annoying really fast when all you want to do is sleep and he is busy rubbing and kicking! Most days I try to be okay with it (mostly since I sleep like a rock) because I know that I will long for him to be little and snuggled up in bed with me! He is such a ham, today we were in Goodwill and Michael Jackson's Thriller came over the speakers and Ben started to dance and act like a zombie so Elijah put on his best zombie act and passersby giggled throughout the store! Yes, they are my children! And yes, for the record, I have taught them how to act like dinosaurs! Every day Elijah runs up to me after breakfast saying, "I behabe mommy, can I hab a bar (granola bar)" and if i say no not yet, he stares at me with those beautiful dark brown eyes and says "tum on mom, pease!" I love the way he talks, I almost hate to correct his speech but we do! I really don't know that I could manage as well without Ben's accurate interpretation for Elijah, we really have some frustrating moments when Ben is at school and I just can't understand him....sometimes when we figure out the word I will teach it to him in sign so if speech fails then we can understand what he is trying to communicate. He still signs "please" as he says it, but it is the only one unless he is trying to impress me or teach Ezra, who flat out refuses to use it! Ezra is walking now, not full-time but without encouragement and that is completely fine by me....the other two walked so early that it is nice to have a normal 14 month old! He scoots in such a fashion that we get lots of conversation out of it, it is kind of a cross between a chimpanzee's scoot and Igor's(from Frankenstein) shuffle...so it can be either funny or creepy! He loves to climb up into his highchair and up onto Elijah's toddler bed and even up Ben's slide in his bedroom. He is extremely fearless and adventurous, obviously fitting in with the other two! He is our biggest cuddler...LOVES to be held. ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, he has his first two fingers in his mouth! We get a lot of opinions on that topic and personal stories shared and quite honestly, we don't really care one way or another right now, it's his thing and I'm okay with that, if you've ever had a colicky baby then you know what I mean! He jabbers like a mad man and it instantly melts my heart. His favorite thing to say right now is "no no" and "stop" and then he shakes his head, when does this stop being so cute?! I love my babies, God has blessed me with 3 wonderful, beautiful, talented, fun, challenging boys and I am a much better person because of it.

Please stay tuned as I gear up to share our lives through words and photos yet again. I hope to share glimpses of my photo sessions also, as I have the time! Thank you all for reading my entries and being patient with me, Much Love.
Nichole~