Never Say Never,

 

 

 

 

but I will NEVER move again.

1. Complete exhaustion
2. Boxes everywhere
3. This is why we love this new place: a great house, lots of outdoor adventures, and friendly neighbors!
4. This is why the kids love this place: zip line

kids kids kids

 

This was taken 5 days before we officially closed on this house. I guess we were doing our best to add as many stains on the carpet and scuffs on the walls/woodwork as possible before we left. I thought about printing this pic and leaving it in the house for the new owners... but I'm not sure they would find it so funny. Seriously though, I filled the nail holes and painted over them, cleaned every shelf and even washed above the cabinets! Greg practically took a toothbrush to the barn floor, and all this in about 3 days. We owe some of you BIG TIME for helping us in the move!!! WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU. More on that in the next post...

I LOVE THIS PIC

 

Isn't that such a great feeling?? Being the first to tromp through a fresh snow, making tracks even before anything else...

12 years old

 

I've been a bit out of touch, so I thought I would just choose a few pics to highlight our busy Jan/Feb.
This was our first big event: Nathan turned 12! That was Jan 21st, and we did celebrate on his actual bday, but we also took a few boys down to Big Cedar for an overnight. We considered it a successful stay with only one complaint from mangment to keep down the noise!

Oh, the Holidays have come and gone...

 

It all happened so fast, me blogging about it, not so. I know it's old news, but here are some of my favorite shots from our festivities...

I really don't have any good pics yet of the house we're moving to, just inspection shots of the interior of the furnace and stuff like that. I do hope people will still drive out for pool parties & cookouts... We should be able to have one incredible Fall Fest, too. That's way too far away, though, how 'bout FESTIVUS????

WE"RE MOVING!

 

A lot has happened in the 4 years since this shot was taken. ..


I've been absent these few weeks from the blog/facebook/email world completely because I have been blitzing the market to find where we should live next. Almost 2 weeks ago on a Sunday night, the family was enjoying the 3rd annual Lord of the Rings watch party (something it seems only our family enjoys), when the phone rang with an offer on our house. I about choked on my popcorn. After a few days of negotiations, we came to terms and that's when it all began.
With the main search criteria being the Log-Rog school district, I checked out every active, expired, and withdrawn listing fron the last year... That's a lot for this slow computer connection, too!
So finally I came across this beauty that sits on 8 acres a little further out in Rog. Fantastic, AND the current owners are even Sooner fans. It was meant to be. We agreed on terms this morning and now we are under contract to buy their pretty home. Can't wait. I love it!
I'll try to stay current here, but the move is on...

(By the way, it has some georgeous photo spots!)

The Wolfe's

 

 

 

 

What a family. I can not think of any couple more "trained in the Faith" than this one. I feel privileged to have them as the leaders of our highschool class at High Street, I'm so glad Lauren is in there. For those of you who don't know, this has been an amazing year for them. In October 2007, Jen (the Mom shown here in the photos)lost her Dad to cancer. One month later, the little boy in these pics was diagnosed with cancer. 8 months ago, she had this beautiful little baby girl. 3 months ago, Jackson was declared cancer free! What a year. What a family. Getting the chance to shoot their Christmas pics was an honor and I hope they are thrilled and blessed with the result of our session.

Swingin' from a Limb

 

Whatever your brother says do, by all means do not do. Here is Nathan way up in that tree (the Million $$ Tree I talk about to the right), and he says "now... swing!" If you're the fun loving little sister, you just go for it. Besides it ended up a really cool picture. Here's to you, Nathan, my future camera junkie. DON'T EVER TAKE MY CAMERA UP A TREE AGAIN.

Violet and her Daddy

 

Flu Remedy

 

Your thinking, "what???" But seriously, after an all-nighter with Nathan hitting the bathroom every 20 minutes - this view was an incredible blessing. I just couldn't pick which shot I liked better, and neither really does it justice... So, you get 2 of them tonight.

November Sunset

 

Seriously, did anyone happen to notice that amazing sunset on Monday evening?! The clouds were so wierd, it was like a clean knife cut across the SW sky. Emma saw it first, and it was pretty neat at 3:45 in the afternoon. But later, when the sun fell to just beneath that line of clouds, it threw an amazing array of colors across the whole sky. Even Nathan, who had his head in the toilet 18-20 times that day noticed this display from the window. I jumped in the car with no gas in it, sped down to an open field, and grabbed what I could - so just in case you're head was in the toilet, too... here it is.

Anchor Hill Valley

 

 

So a couple of weeks ago our family had our pic taken by another friend/artist/photographer from Rogersville, then I took their pictures - all in hopes of grabbing something both families can use for our Christmas cards. It was actually a funny event... hurry and gather everyone from school and work, get cleaned up, get to their house before the light was too low. I shoot them, we trade places, and it's our turn. Find another well lit spot in the valley, get set up and try again... trade places... hurry up the hill, it's brighter up there... it's freezing, my eyes are watering, and we were hungry...
Whew! Not the ideal way to have a photo shoot, but it was fun, I think we were successful enough, and I now discovered one of the prettiest valleys in MO. Complete with an abandoned 100 yr old farmhouse the kids say is haunted, horses, and glittering sunlight - if you catch it at just the right time.

Missy, this one's for you...

 

Thanks for all your encouraging comments, Missy! So, to say thanks, here's a sweet image of your littlest one.

The 3rd annual chili cook-off was a blast, and I wasn't planning on posting any pics from it, but this was so cute I had to show you. There were tons of little babies there and it was my intention to go around and get a shot of them all, but you know with keeping the activity going and all... I just had to give up and put my camera down.

{ By the way, that song on Sunday was great! Awesome words, too, had to be Indelible Grace? }

Way Beyond Pigtails

 

 

 

 

2 Teenage girls + Quirky props + Sparkling sunlight = Fun, quirky, beautiful photos!

These 2 have been good friends since the 3rd grade and realized they really don't have any good pics of themselves together... except for that one video where they presented a summary of MO state info to their class in 4th grade, complete with pointing sticks, a map of MO hanging from the fireplace mantle, and pigtails.

Thanks for letting me practice on both of you!

Gabe

 

 

 

 

How fun is it to run around after a 2 yr old at a park and catch the perfect shot?! I forgot to come armed with french fries for bribery purposes, but other than the occasional "all done," from Gabe, he did really great! He's such a cute kid anyway, and smiles came easy, but I still had to be on my toes. You know with water nearby, and untrustworthy geese hissing at us at times, I still think Sequiota Park is a beautiful place. It comes complete with water, stone, trees, and an abundance of "goose noodles."

Brianna

 

Sorry if I butchered the spelling of your name... You are a beautiful young lady and I just couldn't post your session without including this shot. I guess I will forever be limited to choosing just 4 images per upload. Oh well, this way you got your very own entry.
:-)

The Brown Trio

 

 

 

 

Here are some very sweet girls from our church... It was such a beautiful day at the park, I think they had just as much fun as I did!