MAIN STREET STUDIOS MINI SESSION

My brother-in-law (of Main Street Studios) came to Little Rock a few weeks back for mini sessions, in which we were delighted to take part.  Every time, he captures the best of us as a family.  This means it often goes a little sideways and off the rails, and even so, he gets great shots.



I most especially love the individual shots of our kiddos this time around.  I treasure these images because they are such great representations of each child.

Here is 10 year old Lily -

And then 8 year old Bella.

6 year old Violet -

And lastly, 6 year old William!

We also snuck in a couple shot!



Finally, we have the "walking-casually-through-a-well-lit-field-while-we-laugh-together-and-wear-coordinated-clothing" shot.  I really love it, because even though this is not how we skip through life, we are genuinely laughing here.  I'm so thankful for Luke and all of the photos he has captured of our crew through the years - literally starting with our engagement photos!



For all our of Main Street Studio sessions - click here!

MAIN STREET STUDIOS FALL SPECIAL

Back in the summer we did family beach pictures which was its own adventure including a rain storm.  And I am so thankful for those pics, but I also knew I still wanted Luke to do pictures of the kids.  He is so amazing and has been taking pictures of all of them since they were born.  When we were in Siloam Springs a couple of weeks back, we snuck onto his Fall Special schedule, and these are the results.



If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, book Main Street Studios if you have the option!  His work is fantastic, and I would use him even if he weren't my BIL.  In fact, well before he even met my sister, John booked him to do our engagement pictures!  Northwest AR is lucky to have him, and I am working on him to come do mini-sessions in Little Rock next year - be on the look out!

My kiddos are getting to the place where photos aren't quite as difficult as they once were, but they still manage to get squirrely.  Plus, there are four of them, so everyone has to cooperate at the same time, and that is really tricky with this crew.  Even still, Luke got so many great shots!




I always love his Fall Special sets with the beautiful outdoor options.
And I love the kiddos featured even more.

9 year old Lily -

7 year old Bella - (who has since turned 8!)

5 year old Violet -

5 year old William -

They really are all growing like weeds.  I am amazed and thankful to have a front row seat.  And to have these now treasured photographs.  Thank you, Main Street Studios.



For past Main Street Studios pictures of our family, click here!

CHRISTMAS CARDS 2017

It's Christmas Eve, and we're in town, and it is actually so relaxing.  Though - it's still Christmas, and our children are acting like they are on speed, and I have actually threatened to burn a child's present to try to achieve better behavior from said child. 🤦🏻‍♀️ So basically, it's pretty normal around here.



We've been to church once, and we are going to another church tonight since we are super spiritual. 😜 I do love the Christmas Carols and the reminder of the hope that we have because Love Came Down to us.  Managing tiny candles in the hands of each child just reminds me how much I need my Savior.  Glad I get to do that a second time tonight.



Our Christmas cards are by Main Street Studios - photos and design!  Last year I explained my lack of Christmas card strategy, and though I did order the right amount, it was still a pretty haphazard experience.  Maybe next year it will be more organized?  Probably not. 😬

"Rejoice" is highlighted on our card, and truth be told, there are many moments that I am having to choose to rejoice, cause all of the feelings don't exactly line up.  There is something about Christmas and expectations and lack of routine and life that usually collide into at least one meltdown for me.  I had that meltdown yesterday, though today has been better.  Our home and family life do not resemble many of the beautiful sentiments expressed on cards - there is a lot of mess here.  We desperately need baby Jesus to come and fix us and be with us.

But I am so thankful that even in the midst of the mess, I have a reason to rejoice.  Jesus did choose us and left Heaven and spent a lifetime here on Earth.  He understands exhaustion and unmet expectations and hardship, because he lived it.  He suffered so much disappointment and heartache during his 33 years here, and he ultimately experienced a horrific death - though it is certainly redeemed through his resurrection three days later.

And because of the pain and loss and beauty of this most important story, I can rejoice.  God holds us in his hand, and his plans for us are better than are own.

Merry Christmas - even if it is not what you wish for - I hope you too can find the reason to rejoice.

MAIN STREET STUDIOS FALL SPECIAL PICS

My blogging has slowed considerably this year for a host of reasons.  My kids are getting older, so I don't choose to share as much, and the rhythm of our lives has changed a lot in the past six years that I've been updating.  Still, there are certain moments and stages that I don't want to forget, and this blog is one of the best places for me to record them.  Along with some of the minutia of our daily lives, I'm sharing the Fall Special pictures that Luke of Main Street Studios fame took.

This photo shoot was weirdly easy and good and took less than 15 minutes.  Every child smiled willingly and enthusiastically - there's another thing that I want to remember.



Let's start with Violet.  I never want to forget about the current play-list that she would like to play all day every day if we let her.  It starts with Fight Song, continues on to the Chick-fil-A song and rounds out with Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  No one said her tastes were stagnant.  Violet also regularly proclaims her love for Mr. Adam (this goes all the way back to our Rwanda trip).  It is amazing how many ways he can be mentioned, and he comes up multiple times daily.

Violet also literally somersaults around the house anytime she is getting from point A to point B.  I think we have a tumbler in the making.  She is enthusiastic about cleaning, though this usually does not have a net clean effect which is not for lack of trying.  When she is excited, she will bow her head and shake her arms to show it, which we regularly have to explain to people, and you can often find her belting out the Moana theme song.



William really is all boy, and we do all we can to encourage that, since he is the lone boy in our pack.  He likes to say, "Mommy, Mommy, Guacamole" or "Francie, Francie, Guacamole" sort of randomly - though he will follow that up with declaring his love - he is so very affectionate.  His affection can be pretty tightly regulated, because if you go in for a kiss, he will often say, "I want a kiss tomorrow, not today.  Only a hug today."

Currently, William is obsessed with the sword that John made him to go with his Captain Donut costume, and he will usually have some collection of Duplo Lego superheroes in tow.  In recent days, William has declared shirts with buttons to be "bad" and shirts without buttons to be "good."  I'm not a huge fan of the way this nets out during wardrobe choice, but we are working through it together and learning to compromise.



Bella is killing it in 1st grade.  Red Ribbon week was last month, and it provided a few excellent quotes in our house.  For example, Bella said that they would be "celebrating drugs" at school that week.  😂 That meant they got to dress up each day, and she went as Batgirl from last year's Halloween costumes, except that she added a sign that said "NO DRUGS" to her cape.  Basically - she's winning at life and certainly catching the messages at school.

Bella loves to be with people and is forever saying hi and also being recognized by others when we are out and about.  She's also beginning to pray in such sincere and earnest ways - I find myself so grateful as she prays "for God to be glorified in everything."  She also prays for us all to have fun all the time, so we're definitely still grounded over here.

Lily is my little book worm with a loud voice and lots of enthusiasm.  Many nights around the dinner table we do an "IF" question - these often lead us to thinking and sometimes yield hysterical results.  When asked, "If you could be the current world champion in any one sport, which sport would it be?"  Bella quickly chimed in with "soccer!"  Lily said, "Piano," and when we asked for a sport, not a musical instrument, she said, "Flute!" 😳🤣  We might need to do a little more explanation about sports and maybe re-enroll her in piano lessons.

She really does read voraciously, and I make almost weekly trips to the library to keep her well-stocked on books.  It's so fun to start to introduce kids to literary worlds that I love, and I'm hoping to spend more time in the next year all reading together.  Lily is also highly responsible, and I've been so impressed to see her work on projects and take care of the computer that she uses at school which she must charge every night on her own.  She has only forgotten once all year - I can't say that my record on stuff is usually that good.



I love these four - far more than I ever even realized that I would or could.  It feels like my heart beats in and with and for them, and I hope and pray that John and I can continue to steward their hearts and minds in ways that are helpful to them and pleasing to the Lord.



Thank you, Luke, for these cherished pictures!

For more of Main Street Studios pictures of our family, click here!

FAM PICS BY MAIN STREET STUDIOS

Back at the very end of July, Luke took our family pictures while we were in Siloam Springs.  It should be noted, that one of my children, who happens to be male, was EXTREMELY OPPOSED to this photo session.  But Luke was able to make photo magic anyway, because he is super awesome like that.  It is unbelievable to me that the same person who took our engagement pictures many many moons ago has now taken pictures of us as a family at every stage.  My best advice for this is to have your sister also marry a fantastic photographer.  I am so grateful.

The girls were all extremely willing participants, especially since I kept slipping them Smarties, my go to photo bribe due to lack of messiness.  Do you ever catch yourself looking at pictures of your children and being just floored at how beautiful they are?  That was my sensation when I saw these.

8 year old Lily

6 year old Bella

4 year old Violet

4 year old William

I've been sort of obsessed with balloons, so I brought some, along with a helium tank.  We blew up four before the helium ran out, and then one floated away. 🤣 So, my vision didn't exactly come to fruition, but we still got a few fun shots.

That last picture sums up life pretty well.  I'm bringing the fun, John is bringing the steady, and the kids are clinging and/or running depending on the moment.

Thank you so much, Main Street Studios!  To see our past photo sessions with Main Street Studios, click here.  And, if you are in NorthWest Arkansas, you should definitely book Luke to take your pictures - he is amazing!