Okay, it's been a while .... the past weeks have been full of family, friends, work, home, baseball, ballet, school events, a pre-school graduation, violin concerts and a piano recital. Not to mention the daily chores of having a home and family. So, I guess instead of writing about life in our little part of the world, I've been living it. And when there has been a quiet moment (not may to speak of) I have been simply taken in the quiet. The past weeks have had some ups, some downs, some good learning experiences, some ....

Work has been somewhat consistent as of late ... a couple of shoots a week. With prep time and photo editing, that schedule has been good. My shoots have mostly been babies and family portraits. But the best part has been that most have been repeat clients. And I love that. I recently had a photo session with a couple and their 2 week old baby girl. What I enjoyed most about it was that I had shot their wedding five years ago. They were a sweet young couple then, and now a family of three.
I am blessed to be a little part of my clients lives .... in different stages of their lives.


One of our family ongoing family projects has been the making of our own sourdough bread. It's been in the for a couple months now. I found a starter recipe and now "feed" the starter every day. That's Pie's job ... mixing the starter. At least two or three days a week, we make bread. The first loaf I made was when the starter was only a couple of weeks old. I learned quickly that two weeks wasn't enough time for aging the starter. But I was excited so I made a loaf and served it with dinner. I was promptly asked to never make it again! And that comment wasn't from the kiddos .... The loaf was so dense that my husband thought we could use it as a weapon!!!
Since then we have all worked on it. Feeding, mixing, kneading, rising time ... it's a process. But now it's sour and chewy and really tastes like sour dough bread. We could still stand for a few improvements but how fun and rewarding to make it, bake it and enjoy it .... with lots of butter!

The kiddos have had a lot of activities lately. There's been baseball (practice and games), guitar and a violin concert for Bub. He has been pitching this year and takes it quite seriously. He does love the sport and always gives his all. His favorite thing to do is to steal home ... the choice to go for it, the close call, the slide ... so fun to watch.

bub also completed in his school's first annual track meet. He took first in the 100 meter, which was fun. But the best part was during the awards ceremony when they announced his name as the first place winner, the entire 4th grade started chanted "Tina" in unison. Tina happens to be Bubs nickname from a good friend and neighbor. I just had no idea the entire school call my sweet boy Tina! Quite funny though ... and Bub just rolls with it.

Bub came to use asking for more of an allowance. We talked and told him we'd expect more chores to be done (with a happy heart) for the allowance to go up. He is trying to save for a ping pong table. So Bub made himself a chore chart ... with quite a few chores mind you. But he has been sticking with it and with a good attitude for the most part. Mowing the lawn has a bit of a learning curve! We have had crop circles, broken sprinkler heads to name a few. But he has figured it out and his last mow, which was yesterday, turned pretty good out. I was proud of him ... the job and attitude!

Pie graduated pre-school! Kind of sad that we're done with that phase of her childhood. She had a picnic graduation where they got cotton candy, faces painted, and their feet painted before they walked through their graduation (on a school banner), leaving their foot prints behind. so sweet.
We celebrated by a end of school party with her friends and a princess tea party. It was Pie's day and I wanted her to feel special. She did and by the end of the afternoon when all the celebration was done, she was just my baby who was fast asleep ....

I know there's been more ... I even got a date night with my husband. So thankful for even the little time of us.

There was a family football game, dart tournament and the carnival. We've learned lessons about obeying and being respectful. We've had church time at home and good Biblical discussions and growth. We've had speakers fall, an antique desk break, plus loads of other mishaps. All moments that we can choose to laugh at or grow weary.

The sun is finally shining ... and summer is just about here. Off to live life ....
Peace