family photos

Sunday before last, we had family photos taken. To get a Christmas card photo yes, but mainly because Joseph was 18 months old when we took the last ones. I wanted good shots of the four of us. But I was also eager to get photos of the kids at these ages, since these ages are the best ever!

We did two different outfits/settings for the photos - one kinda formal and the other more casual attire. I just got the disc from the photographer last night and am so happy with how they turned out. Our friend, Adrienne, does a great job capturing the children's personalities and just how the four of us are - happy and so full of love.

I'm including some of the casual ones here. {I'll choose from the others for our Christmas card and post some of those later. Don't want to ruin the surprise!}

That last one kills me! Big sister kissing little brother as she loves to do...and his face!

As a side note, Hannah's two front teeth are loose. Having scheduled the photo shoot over a month out, I was nervous about her losing them. I really wanted one more professional picture of her with her sweet baby-tooth smile, before she seriously started looking too old.

While I'm talking about too old, Hannah also had her six-year well check. She has GROWN. I mean, obviously she has grown, but she has grown a lot.  While the yearly average growth in height is 2-2.5" she grew 4"! This explains why almost none of her clothes from last fall fit, even those I thought I ordered a size up.

So our firstborn, our sweet Monkey, is 46.5" and when I pick her up, her feet fall against my shins. Sob.

I am loving these post-toddler-but-still-young-cute-and-fun years. My non-baby babies are full of imagination and wonder. They are truly their own little beings with huge personalities, and I am thoroughly enjoying time with them at these ages.

Now, let me be real, not all days are great. Obviously. Some are bad. Some are hard. And some are just plain miserable and full of the wrong kind of whine. But generally speaking, days are really good.

Family time at home is the best.

Happiness is found in the little things.

Life really is great.

I have learned that joy is a decision. Not all times are fun or happy, but you can decide to choose to be joyful regardless of your circumstances. Joy is something you have deep down inside. It's part of your character. Contentment is something you have to practice, and it is something I pray about every day. Strength. Courage. Determination. Not looking to the left or right, but looking UP. Good thing His mercies are new every morning!

Keeping our focus on our Savior has a way of reinforcing priorities, helping us recognize His grace and our blessings, and filling us with peace and love. Love in our home and family, and love for others. I have found that when I take the time to honor God in my day, things are just better.

My biggest desire is to please God, to fulfill the purposes He has for me. I want to keep Him at the center of our marriage, the center of our home. And I want to be a good example for Hannah and Joseph. I want them to love Jesus.

I know this is way more profound than just a post of our recent family photos. I guess just seeing pictures of us reminds me how blessed we are and how truly good my life is. These ages are so much fun...but they are also formative years. Children are little sponges, soaking it all in.

As the days pass quickly by, I find that I'm the one trying to soak it all in.

framebridge

I was so excited to drive up to the house and see a big cardboard box on our front porch recently. Apparently my little squeals of delight were contagious, because after a few minutes the kids caught onto the excitement, though not exactly sure why…

I received my very first order from Framebridge! I've been wanting to try them out and for Christmas got a gift certificate.

I went with four Instagram minis and did all white mats but with different frames. The process is so easy. Framebridge gets the images from my Instagram account. I choose which photo I want, then choose between a white or off-white mat, and pick one of their 25+ frames. Their frame collection is awesome; I did have some trouble deciding.



They come ready to hang and include a pouch with a nail and care instructions. I really like how they put felt dots on the backs of the frames to prevent scratches on walls.

I absolutely love the way they turned out!

That one is now hanging on a wall in the children's bathroom.

This one of Joseph running through a field is currently on the door to the hallway from the breakfast room where framed family photos cover the walls. I'm crazy about the burl wood.

The ones below (from Joe's 20th Naval Academy reunion) are stacked just inside the dining room if you're coming from the breakfast room. I love how the gold bamboo and the fluted antique gold complement each other.

Looking forward to using this company again. If you know me, you know I love framed art and photography. And I really love the affordability of going this route. I recommend!

one (big) thing checked off

On President's Day, we rode over to Augusta. Joe needed to visit the food bank our church is partnering with for our Backpack Buddies program, and I had a couple errands to run. We ate lunch at Five Guys. I could eat those fries all day long, but the whole family loves the peanuts. My kids could live off of them.

I picked up these:

Such an overdue item on my to-do list, that actually having them in hand was almost overwhelming. I am so happy with the way they turned out. I did not want them to match exactly, but I did want them to coordinate.

I did the same mats, and the frames, while completely different, both have a champagne finish.

I am glad I went with this frame for Hannah's. I was initially thinking a wider molding, but this one compliments the announcement's background pattern without being over-the-top. And I love how deep it is.

Joseph's is so different from anything I've seen, and if I went off of my snap-judgement when I first got into the store I would have saved myself some time with the second-guessing. It's masculine but works well with the announcement, a good contradiction to Hannah's very feminine frame. I love it.

I hung them next to one another in the hallway outside the kids' bedrooms. Check!

You know how sometimes it just hits you and, all of a sudden, you realize how big your babies are, and that they're not really, well, babies anymore?

Maybe it's looking at the birth announcements. Maybe it's the words and phrases I'm hearing lately or the conversations we're having. Maybe it's capturing everyday moments in pictures like these… But it has certainly hit me. They are growing up…too fast sometimes for my liking.

pale blue and ivory lace

For the past almost-year, I've had the goal of getting professional pictures of Hannah and Joseph in their pale blue and ivory lace outfits...

Let me back up. A friend of mine here in Sandersville had her darling twin daughters in beautiful handmade dresses one Sunday not long after we moved here. Naturally, I wanted to find out her source! {In case we have not met, I love dressing children traditionally. From lace and embroidered dresses, john johns, Peter Pan collars, smocked outfits, all the way down to knee socks and white walkers with bells are how we like it here.} So, following my friend's lead, I met the lady who makes the most magnificent children's clothes last year at Scott's in Atlanta. My mom accompanied me and we found Joseph's outfit on a little rack, ready to be worn for the upcoming Easter Sunday. Then, combining details from different girls dresses, we had her make something similar for Hannah. The dress was shipped to us last summer. I love them. They are perfect, family heirlooms already, and we've enjoyed our time wearing them. Alas, children grow, and Joseph's days of wearing his outfit are about over. He is also almost two, and that is probably where I'll draw the line of lace on little boys. Thankfully, Hannah will be able to wear hers for another year, maybe more.

So, back to my goal of getting pictures. The first attempt with a photographer was on an October weekend while we were in Savannah for a cousin's wedding. {My blog cover photo is from this shoot.} The photographer is talented, but my kids were not cooperative. Actually, Hannah was ok. It was mainly Joseph. He was cutting his two-year molars and was plain miserable. On top of that, he is a boy and just wanted to run away. After a great deal of effort, we were unsuccessful. Not one decent picture of the two of them together. This is what we did get:

Fast forward a few months, and I have the energy to try again. The deadline of my mom's birthday is approaching and I know she really wants a picture of them in the clothes as well. I made plans to surprise her with a disc of images, so she can decide what she wants to reproduce in large format. I make an appointment with Adrienne, our friend and church member who does photography on the side. She took the 15-month pictures of Joseph last summer. We take the pictures at her home studio. The problem: Joe is not there to help and the studio is set up in the living room where there are lots of breakable things. Joseph was all about it - playing with things - and not getting his picture taken. He stopped moving for a few seconds, and we got a few of him. With Hannah, all we got were weird faces and fake smiles.

Early February. Hannah and Joseph, blue and ivory lace outfits, take two:

Not one picture of them together. Result: another unsuccessful attempt and a stressed out momma.

Two weeks later, our third and final try. We met Adrienne on the front steps of the church. It was cold so we had to be quick. I think this was the third picture taken:

And all we needed was one. They jumped up and played on the stairs. We called it quits when we realized there was no way we were going to be lucky enough to get another. However, in the process, Adrienne got these which I love:

 

 

We printed one each of Hannah and Joseph and one of them together to slip in Meme's birthday card, along with a disc of images.

In the words of Little Einsteins, "Mission completion!"