The world has pitifully, laughably little to offer in comparison to this holy opportunity to raise up a child
It started with me asking Lisa, “How did you get your blog to look so amazing? I want mine to look just like yours!” (I’m a total copycat.)
With her help I am now at sodarnhappy.com
This site will stay up for sentimental reasons, but new blogs will now be posted over there. Be sure to update your google reader accounts and such.
See ya over there..at my own domain. Yea I said it..my OWN domain.
Some words on the day and more images over here…
I love balloons. I really really do. So this week’s theme has me giddy with excitement. I can’t wait to see everyone’s entries.
This is from my first paid session, and one of my favorites so far..my brother and his fiance. The wedding’s in April. 
This is what happens when I try to get a picture of all three kids sitting together nicely, looking at me, and smiling. One single picture like that is every mother’s dream, right? That’s why we put them in ridiculous outfits and bribe them with candy. In my case however it never ever works.
“Guys, sit down by each other and smile…Elliott, please don’t pull on Otto’s head! You’re gonna make him…
cry. Otto, stop crying! It’s okay..Elliott, WHAT are you DOING?!”
“Faith, come back! Elliott, sit down! No one’s getting ANY CANDY!!!”
Yea right.
For now I’ll settle for one awesome picture of each of them.
I hope you all had a nice Halloween. Ours was fun, and exhausting.
Some of just couldn’t handle it.
And the answer to your question is yes, that is the cutest baby dinosaur ever.
When I first read that Ree Drummond was writing a cookbook, I squealed with glee.
When I read that she was considering doing a book trip..not a book tour..I jumped up and down.
When I read that she was coming to Oklahoma City I squealed with glee, jumped up and down, and passed out. Twice.
I knew right away that Cory’s mom had to go with me. She was the first one to tell me about the pioneer woman. So I proceeded to beg, plead and constantly remind her that we HAD to go.
Cory brought the book home the day it came out.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love it. I’ve poured over it so many times. This woman can do anything.
She made a gorgeous cookbook with wonderful recipes, and the best part was that she made it so easy to follow. It’s not the least bit overwhelming and even though I constantly second guess myself when it comes to cooking I looked at most of the recipes and thought, “I can do this!”
But it’s more than a cookbook. It’s filled with beautiful images and stories of her family, the things that we have all come to love so much about her.
The woman has a way with words and pictures. I can’t even tell you how many days were so awful I barely felt like living, especially after having Otto. But on those days whenever she posted something new on her blog, life always felt better. I spent hours upon hours going through her archives and reading every thing over and over again, laughing and crying, so glad to have a friend.
So needless to say, meeting her was a dream come true.
My initial plan was to get there by 4:30pm, at least two hours before the signing officially started. But I forgot exactly what day it was, which isn’t surprising, when I agreed to work that evening. Instead of being there two hours early, I got there 30 minutes early. Which meant that we had a long wait ahead of us. I just had no idea how long.
The first thirty minutes went really well. Elliott was easily distracted and Otto was happy to ride along in the mei tai, plus Faith had stayed at home with Cory’s dad. She had to go to dance, see. And my date with Ree meant nothing to her. Five year olds can be so selfish.
At around the second hour mark, the whining started. That’s when I called Cory and begged him. It went something like this..
“My darling husband..love of my life..the one that makes me complete, would you please oh pretty please come get the boys so I can stand in line without having to scream at them to be patient and embarrass myself in front of these other 976 people?”
Him being the wonderful man he is, he came to the rescue. I had meant for my kids to be the thing that got me extra face time. Ree does love babies..and I happen to think mine are the cutest that have ever existed. But my sanity was more important at this moment, so I was more than happy to be rescued from having to threaten the possibility of never ever ever ever ever watching “Monster Vs. Aliens” again.
But to get down to the nitty gritty, we were in line a total of five hours.
I was actually encouraged by this thought because that meant Ree was taking the time to actually talk to everyone who came to see her. I would rather wait in line for five hours and get to actually visit with her than wait for an hour, get my book signed, and get sent along my merry way feeling unfulfilled.
My friend Kristin is amazing. That’s putting it lightly. Her husband still being overseas, she was forced..I mean blessed..with taking all three of her boys along with her. She survived and made her way to the front of the line. I would’ve definitely given up after the second hour. And it paid off.
Look here! That fourth picture down..that’s Kristin and the boys.
Waiting in line wasn’t all that terrible. Marlboro Man, as he’s affectionately known, was spotted several times. So were all four of Ree’s punks, her mom, Gaga (!!!), her sister Betsy, and her precious nephew Elliott. With two “t’s”, just like my Elliott.
I talked with Marlboro Man, her boys, and her sister. Her sister and I discussed how they needed a wine bar and babysitting service for everyone at the back of the line. We’re best friends now. Really we are.
Would you just look at how adorable that is?
They were so wonderful, just like I knew they would be. Marlboro Man was soft spoken and very very kind. I asked Bryce if it was weird for his mom to be getting all this attention. He looked down at the ground and mumbled a “Nah”. I love him dearly.
One thing I have to say, as I step on my soap box. I saw so many people taking pictures of her kids walking around. While I have a feeling she wouldn’t have minded it just wigged me out. I never take pictures of anyone unless I ask first. I think it’s disrespectful. Never mind the fact that Ree is famous now, it’s still weird, okay? We all know what they look like and we all know they were there. Is it really necessary for us to stick cameras in their faces and snap so furiously? Seriously. Okay…
The line moves far enough for us to actually enter the store. I know we’re getting close because I can see camera flashes going off. Then Kristin starts walking toward me. She assured me that the wait was worth it, but that it was the longest 4 1/2 hours of her life and that childbirth didn’t even last that long.
When we got close to see her Cory’s mom told me she had goosebumps. I was so glad I wasn’t the only one. And anyone who knows Jen, they know there’s only one color. And that color is blue. Guess what Ree was wearing. A beautiful blue blouse.
When the face to face time finally came I was so nervous I could barely talk. I kept stumbling over myself and tried to act cool, like I wasn’t jumping up and down like a giddy 5 year old on the inside.
Cory’s mom took the wheel. She told Ree that one of my pictures had gotten chosen recently. Ree knew exactly which one. She knew! Which means I didn’t dream it. She really did see it, and she really did love it. She actually told me in person. “I loved that one!” were her exact words. Then guess what else she said. “I almost picked that one as the winner.” Okay..I know she might tell everyone that but for her to tell me really meant so much to me. She also tacked on a “You’re a wonderful photographer.” I’m on cloud 983, and I may never come down.
If you read The Pioneer Woman and have ever wondered if she was really sincere, please know that she is. She’s a really beautiful person. Talking to her was like talking to someone I had known for years. Her whole family is so beautiful and so genuine. It was in my top 5 moments in life. The other four being marriage and my three children.
This is the picture I have to document the moment….
Note to self: The next time you meet your hero changing your camera to auto focus instead of manual might be a good idea. Especially if you’re handing your camera off to someone else to take the picture.
To be perfectly honest I’m not all that upset about it. It makes for a good story and it doesn’t change the fact that I was there with her, and Cory’s mom was there to share the moment with me.
Plus I have a feeling that we will meet again some day. We are both Okies after all.
I love living in this state, and I love The Pioneer Woman.
And that’s my story…
I was so excited when I saw the theme for this week because I love love love this picture.
I added a little texture to it this morning though. A bit of sparkle. And I’ll be honest..I thought about leaving the sparkle on his skin so he could be vampire Elliott. Then I felt ridiculous and like I definitely needed more hobbies.
Go to I Heart Faces for more entries.
I got up this morning dreading the day. My exact words via twitter were, “I wish life were a CD player so I could hit the next track button and skip today completely.” I was expecting an extremely hectic day at work today and it was too cold and I was too tired to get out of bed.
But I’m so happy to tell you that today turned out to be beautiful. Work was a breeze and went by so quickly. My last birthday party of the day was so wonderful. The family was beautiful & a total blast to work with. Often times at these parties parents get so stressed out & it just ends up being super stressful. But they were wonderful, and read this..gave me a $20 tip. That’s enough to take my love out for a birthday lunch tomorrow. Score!
Okay, then I get home and complain for hours about how badly my feet hurt. They really do though. I worked for 8 1/2 hours today & the only time I sat down was when I ran out to the car to nurse Otto for about 10 minutes while Cory shoved food down my throat.
When I finally sat down at the computer I logged onto facebook because, I’ll be honest, that’s usually the first thing I do when I sit at the computer, and saw that Lisa had written on my wall. “OMG YOU’RE ON PIONEERWOMAN!!!!!” Then “and omg i am too! hahahah i came here to squeeeeeeee at you before seeing myself!”
I gasped out loud, ran over to her site and viola! There I am! Lisa’s picture is the adorable chubby baby with the wonderful wrinkly foot.
The funny thing about the picture that she chose is that it wasn’t a planned shot. Some of the ones I submitted to her group I had taken so much time to plan and think about. Okay I lied. I never think that much about the pictures I take. 99% of them just kind happen. But this one was definitely taken on a whim. I was waiting for Faith to get out of dance class and thought, Hey! I need a new picture of me with my camera! So I rolled down the window, stuck my head out, and snap!
When I edited it & added the texture I knew it needed round edges already. It just felt right. And since that was Ree’s assignment I figured what the hey..I’ll put it in there. I actually really love the picture and changed it to be my default picture everywhere I’m online before she even chose it.
But the fact remains that this is huge..I mean huge. The Pioneer Woman gets hundreds if not thousands of submissions into her flickr group each time she posts an assignment. The fact that I’m in the running for the big prize doesn’t even matter that much to me. The fact that she saw my picture and that there was something about it that resonated with her..that’s huge!
Why is it huge? Because I learned almost all of what I know about photography from Ree and the beautiful Miz Booshay-who, by the way, has left a comment on this very blog saying she loves my photography. You’d better believe that when I see Ree in just a few days at her cookbook signing I’ll be saying, “Hey! You picked me!” Or I might just stand there starstruck, unable to say anything at all. I do know that I’m getting a picture with her. If I walk out of the bookstore without a picture of me and Ree Drummond, I will regret it til the day I die. Scratch that. I will regret it for all eternity.
I’m on cloud 50..that’s higher than cloud 9..thinking about how Ree saw my face and my fingers holding my camera, and “loved it”. She said it right on her site for all the world to see.
Then I check my email. And no way. I won a contest from the amazing women at the maternal lens. A really beautiful amazing pendant, and now I just have to decide which picture to have put on it. Would it be too obnoxious to put the picture Ree picked on the necklace? Yes. It’s definitely too vain to wear a picture of yourself on yourself.
I never win things! But today I’m 2 for 2. And to celebrate I’m having a root beer before I go to bed. And I might even go to sleep without brushing my teeth! That’s right, I said it. I might not brush my teeth.
Today has been beautiful, and tomorrow will be even more beautiful.
The love of my life turns 28. We’re going to celebrate the way any proper Okie would..by consuming large amount of fried catfish.
I love you all..and Ree, if you by some miracle make it over here in all your free time..heavy on the sarcasm there..thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!
Cory proposed to me on my 21st birthday. He had made a beautiful box and nestled my ring down inside, drove me to the place where we had met for the first time right at midnight, got down on one knee in the parking lot, and asked me to marry him. He’s definitely a romantic. And while I like to act the part of the tough independent woman who doesn’t need a man to be romantic, in my heart of hearts nothing thrills me more than when he opens doors for me or does things every day to make me feel special.
I’d like to think that to everyone around us..with the exception of those who know us extremely well..would look at us from the outside and think that our marriage is perfect. And while, honestly, it’s pretty close, we still have our moments when it’s really difficult to be married.
Especially lately. There seem to be spans of time in our marriage where we just don’t seem to connect. We always connect on a friend level, but sometimes that bonding that goes deeper..the husband and wife bond..just isn’t quite there. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I’m sure those of you who are married know exactly what I mean.
I think that the only thing that gets us through these difficult phases in our lives is to remember what we mean to each other. I’m not exaggerating when I say I think I have the best husband in the world. I really do believe that with all of my heart.
To say that Cory completes me would be a terrible understatement. He knows me like no one else knows me. He knows the face I make when I’m lying. He knows the face I make when I’ve had enough of the kids and life in general. He even knows the face I make when my eyes glaze over and I’m no longer listening..really listening…to what he’s saying.
I have what my love refers to as pretty house, pretty tree syndrome. He’s the deep thinker, I’m more simple minded. I like to see things on the surface, take things for face value, and leave it be. He likes to dug deeper and get to the very core of what makes people tick..what words mean and why they mean what they mean. That’s why he reads deep spiritual books written by scholars in the 19th century and I read the Twilight novels.
I think God designed us that way on purpose. To have two deep thinkers..I think it would be exhausting. And two simple minded numskulls..I could think of at least 500 reasons why that would be tragic.
But tonight, at 12:10am in my freezing cold living room, with a cold nose and bundled up in my hoodie and stretch pants..yes I said it..I’m wearing stretch pants..I will give you twenty reasons why I adore my husband. Just because we’re in the middle of one of those awkward phases, and I’m hoping that we can just jump to the end of it and find that place where we just fit together again.
1. He will eat anything I cook, and always tell me it tastes good, even if I know it tastes like absolute garbage.
2. He looks at diaper changing as an equal opportunity chore.
3. All I have to do is mention the word ice cream, and he wants to know what kind I want, and nine times out of ten, will deliver.
4. On our first Valentine’s Day together, he sent me flowers before our date, and brought two more bundles to me that evening. One bundle real, one silk so I could keep them forever.
5. He bought me a promise ring before the engagement ring. I wore that promise ring around just as proudly as I did the engagement ring.
6. He still tries to dance with me when music is playing, even though he knows I have three left feet.
7. I was the one that wanted baby after baby, yet when being a parent gets really tough, he never points a finger at me.
8. He knows how to wash his own laundry. For this, I want to thank his amazing Mom, who always assured him that she wouldn’t be around to do it for him someday.
9. While we were dating he gave me his favorite t-shirt. I wore it nearly every day. The shirt is now filled with holes, including a giant one in the left armpit. We’ve considered framing it.
10. After every date I would come home with a sore jaw and stubble burn on my face. The whole drive home I would sniff my hoodie that smelled like him and smile.
11. Faith got his ears, and I can’t even tell you how giddy with joy that makes me.
12. He understands my obsession with Scott Avett, and embraces it.
13. Sometimes, he still asks if he can kiss me before he does.
14. We still hold hands in the car.
15. He tries his best to call all our friends as often as he can to check and see how they’re doing. Because he really does care.
16. He doesn’t second guess my fear of clowns, snakes, and irrational fear of the kids near water, but does his best to protect me from all three.
17. Just a week or so ago he told me that it irritated him when I kissed Otto very loudly, making that smooching sound that 99% of mothers do to their babies. The thing is, I’ve done this with all of our children, since the day Faith was born. He’s spent the last 5 years enduring it without saying a thing. For this, he deserves a metal. Especially since he hasn’t been allowed to eat baby carrots or potato chips around me for the last 11 years.
18. When I was pregnant with Faith, I was so monumentally sick that I had to take anti-nausea medication. But it had to be administered in an unsightly manner. We’ll just say that Cory went above and beyond his role as a husband.
19. He still pretends not to notice when I fart audibly around him.
20. He’s my bestest friend forever and ever.
Here’s to growing old together.
You worrying about losing your hair, and me wondering why mine hasn’t turned gray already.
Here’s to saddle bags and crows feet..to being called “ma’am” and “sir”..and to looking at our 3 children and wondering how in the world we got here..and why we got it so good.
This post will be word free..because who needs words with moves like that?
fall fall, how I love you
fall fall, you never leave me blue
fall fall, do you love me?
fall fall, stay around longer this year would ya? oh gee, oh gee
Don’t worry. I have no delusions of grandeur. I know I’m not a poet.
The fact that I managed to rhyme a few words is actually quite an accomplishment.
But in all seriousness, I do love fall. I love how the air smells like burning wood and hot chocolate. It’s the time of year I close my eyes, wish for a fireplace, and open them to be disappointed yet again.
Fall is a time of change, and things are changing around here.
I have a feeling it’s for the better, but with change always comes apprehension, and this time it’s tenfold.
Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
Why is it so hard to put all my trust in a God who can raise the dead and move mountains? He put the mountains there in the first place. Yet when it comes to something as trivial as everyday life, I can’t just lean on Him.
And all this heavy talk has made my head ache. Or maybe it’s the crying baby in the background.
Some days are harder than others. And today’s been a doozie.
Just call me Debbie Downer…
Hi there..welcome to my life.
