Paul & Erica

I'm in a posting kind of mood today!  I'm excited to upload a few images from my Uncle's wedding, but can't post too many because they are being held ransom until I get my Fettuccine Alfredo dinner in exchange for them!  =) 

I find it so hard to get emotion at weddings anymore, but this one really touched me!  It seems like the smaller, intimate ceremonies are the ones that have the most meaning!  I was so happy to be able to capture a few memories for Paul & Erica as a favor to them! The girls loved playing with their cousin Oia & new cousin Tory!

Welcome to the family Erica and her wonderful children!

 We found out that the real reason why men are late to the wedding is because they forgot the marriage license and have to run back to the house!

Fantasy Cloths

This post is to show a few other photographers a few of the ways that I have used Fantasy Cloths (hence the black outs). 

Carb Dictionary

20 months ago when we were forced to start a new journey of life that involved Type 1 Diabetes, I heard stories of people who knew carb counts by heart.  It amazed me at the time to think that some one can look at a plate of food and calculate the carbs off the top of their heads while I was meticulously scouring the Calorie King book that is a T1D companion.  I couldn't imagine life without that book and there was always a copy right beside the insulin. 

Christmas morning I had an "ah-ha" moment and I had to smile to myself.  I hit a milestone!  And while I know that very few people will understand, I am very proud of myself! 

After watching the girls open their presents and playing a little bit with the toys, we needed to eat breakfast so that the girls would eat lunch when we went to Great Grandma & Grandpa's.  While getting the cereal poured, Ellee checks her sugar.  When I heard the beep, I glanced at the meter with hopes that she wasn't through the roof from the night before.  A huge smile: 90! 

Last Christmas and Thanksgiving were a nightmare for me.  Anyone with a 4 year old knows that it's hard to keep track of what they eat at a holiday buffet.  These meals are stressing with a child that you have to give medicine to for them to be able to process the food they eat.  Did they eat everything you gave them?  Did they sneak any food that you don't know about?  It's a wing and a prayer - you just have calculate and watch for hypo/hyper signs.

This year was better.  I haven't looked at the carb book for a while.  Some times I'm slightly off, but 95% of the time in range.  Dinner on Christmas Eve consisted of Ellee snacking on the assortment of food.  Did I panic or freak out because I didn't see the portions, No!  I smiled and allowed her to be a kid and enjoy one of the best things about Christmas - all the great food!  I calculated the carb intake for what I knew she ate and dosed her.  The next morning - 90!  Not only did I keep her within range, but I had her right at her target number! 

I smiled to myself because I am right where I want to be:  controlling this disease, not letting it control us!  If we have to live with this, we will make the best of it! 

Growth Spurts

Ever since Ellee was born, I always packed the clothes that she out grew in an empty diaper box.  I saved them in case we had another girl, and if we didn't, then I could give them away to some one who did.   I love my girls, and for the fact that we didn't have to buy a second wardrobe for a little boy, I love that we ended up with two girls!

The other day I tried to put Dani in some 4T pants, but they were too big and she has outgrown the length of 2Ts.  No big deal, I figured that when I got time, I would go through the two diaper boxes in the top of the closet and pull out the 3T pants. 

I sat in the girls' bedroom the other day with two boxes in front of me confused as all get out!  I had all 4T clothes, but no 3s.  Where in the world did I put them?  Then it dawned on me... Ellee NEVER wore 3T pants! She went right from 2Ts to 4Ts because she was so tall!  It's hard to believe that a child that young could skip one whole clothes size, but she did!  Now I get to go shopping!  =)

Leaves!

Some times it is easy to get caught up in your everyday life that you forget how to relax.  It seems like my nights after work and getting home with the girls leaves us with only enough time for dinner, baths, homework, and reading books before bedtime.

As we were driving down our dead-end street after soccer practice, I told the girls that next week we will make big leaf piles and take our pictures in it!  They loved the idea and wanted to do it tonight!  How do you explain to little kids that the lighting conditions aren't right? The girls jumped out of the car and ran for the rakes while I went inside to start dinner.

I went out to check on them and found they had a great leaf pile going! What the heck, why not have some fun... what will it hurt?!  Figuring that dinner will only take me 10 minutes to throw together (Grilled cheese & tomato soup is the best combination!), I got the camera, tripod, flash, & wireless shutter release and headed outside!

The were shot at ISO 1600 because of the rapid loss of daylight, but I'm happy with them!  I didn't have time to edit all the pictures I took of just the girls, so I went through and pulled the ones of all of us!

Dani is as much of a ham in front of the camera as she is aspiring to be the one taking the pictures!

Kayaking

A few weeks Ellee went out for the first time in an adult kayak! I loved the little kid kayaks that we had found a few years ago and enjoyed watching El learn new a new skill!  She was such a natural with it.

But all good things must come to an end and the other week I realized that she had outgrown her boat.  Nervous that an adult kayak was too big, I figured that the best way to find out is to put her in one and see how she does.  That kid never ceases to amaze me!  Some one gave me advice the other week and told me "Teach kids what you think they are capable of, then teach them beyond that!  They catch on quick and are eager to learn!"  And I think that boating is a great example of that!  She picked up on turning, going backwards, and even more.

Where does the time go?

The last week has been exciting!  I got to see my oldest off to kindergarten for the 4th time today, and every time I see her get on the bus, I am so proud of her!   And I have to admit, I'm proud of myself!  It's so hard to let go some times.  My Ellee is such a strong and independent person (just like her mom) and I know that she has to start going out and doing things on her own!  For the past 16 months she has always been with one of 6 people, at all times, who can are trained to deal with her Type 1 Diabetes.  I was very excited about her starting school, but as the mother of a T1D child, it's hard to hand the reigns over to a stranger.  I have to accept and know that they will take good care of her, she is not the first T1D student, and unfortunately, she won't be the last.  I have to accept that she is in good hands!

In addition to starting school, we are also giving soccer a second shot!  This time an old friend of mine talked me into co-coaching the team!  R & I keep talking about how amazed we are with the kids' progress over the last 2 weeks!  I'm huge on the idea of getting kids into sports, give them something to concentrate on and look forward to, and above all, it gets them out and exercising! Since this is a U6 team, we agreed that we want to keep practices fun and work on basic skills to set them up with a solid foundation for a future in the sport.  So far, I think we are doing a great job!  I have no idea how our first game will go next weekend, but I'm excited to see!  These kids have improved their skills by 20%+ from one practice to the next and I am confident that by the end of the season, they will have the hang of the game!  We don't expect miracles at the first game, we just want participation and effort!

For the past few days, all I've heard and read about is everyone's excitement about the start of Buckeye Football.  Don't get me wrong, it's great that they are proud of the school and their football team, but how many of them personally know some one on that team?  I really wish that all of those people would take half of that energy and put it into their excitement for their child's sports involvement.  Yes, our lives are busy, but isn't it worth putting aside the 5 hours a week for practices and games to see the joy in your own child's face when they have a great kick, hit, catch, run, or score?  It is to me.  I could care less about some over paid athlete in a pro sport or about a great collegiate when I have an opportunity to put my time and energy into something more important - my own children, my community, and the future of the community!

I really wish I could post names and brag about all of the kids on our team!  I can't for privacy purposes, but I hope that by the end of the season, the all the kids understand how proud of them R & I are of them and their efforts!  I hope that years down the road, they don't remember our game record, but how much fun they had at practice and learning new things!