Welcome to my living room.  No toys were cleaned up in anticipation of this post.  In fact, there are a pair of socks lying on the floor visible in this photo (dirty socks).  This is how I roll.

This quaint Melissa & Doug dollhouse was just sold to us by our neighbors & friends Anna & Kate.  Anna is cleaning out some of her toys & her mom Laura offered this dollhouse to us first.  She also told me that Brooke plays with it constantly whenever she visits Anna’s room.  We do have a dollhouse already, 2 in fact, but one is Emma’s and the other is what the girls call a “baby” toy.  It was Emma’s first dollhouse given to her by my mom on her birthday – the Fisher Price Little People series.  Ever since then we’ve been collecting a slew of Little People until it got too unbearable.  They were like a bunch of breeding rabbits, showing up everywhere!  The kids have loved them, but I told them if they want to buy this dollhouse, they needed to sell some of their old toys to make room for the new one.  They agreed.  Some things have sold (enough to clear out some clutter) & they’ve been playing with this doll house non-stop since Laura brought it over.  So, thank you Laura, my dear friend, for thinking of us.  We love its simplicity & the imagination it brings forth.  Emma & Brooke are in dollhouse heaven!

Here’s to recycling your toys!

And to get this shot – in case you care – I put my camera on the dining room floor and put the ISO at 400, the aperture at f/4.0 and the shutter speed at 0.6 sec.  I wanted to see if I could get enough light, no grain, & enough in focus without using my flash.  My makeshift tripod of the dining room floor seemed to work well!

Photos I’ve been looking at:  Homeshade Photography.  Tasha Pool was introduced to me by my friend Heather (her website, not her in person).  I’ve loved looking at all her work, following her numerous hilarious status updates on Facebook, and just enjoying her real, vibrant, & colorful photos.  She’s even shared with me a little bit about how she does petti parties for little girls & mini-sessions for various other holidays.  They are kind of like Tupperware parties with the hostess inviting friends over for little photo sessions of their kids & the hostess receives credits for the more guests she invites. It’s ingenious!  And this girl cranks out the photos – and they are by no means mediocre.  She is fabulous!

Well, that’s my talk for today.  Just wanted to give a little shout out to my wonderful family, friends, and clients who’ve pushed my Ethiopia fundraising all the way up to $500 so far!  (Corinne, Jimmy, Ashley, the Rode’s, Kelly, Aunt Gail)  And the total cost of the trip got reduced to $2,500 so I am on my way!  If you’d like to help me get all the way there, visit my online donation page.  I’ll also be mailing out support letters & prayer cards, so let me know if you want one too.  I covet your prayers!  Thanks so much!

Here’s Anna & Kate…

We went out on one of the hottest, most humid, most sunny afternoons.  And darn it, Kate wanted some milk!  And she wasn’t going to be persuaded otherwise!  We gave her yogurt bites, Skittles, funny dances, silly songs, and her mommy even gave her kisses…but she would have none of it!  She wasn’t going to smile until she got some milk.

I’m blogging this to show you that life may not always be smiles, and that’s okay.  We all want some milk once in a while and it’s alright not to smile until we get it.  So, go get what you are longing for and then smile.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day either.  The impending storm held off for us, brought nice cloud cover, and the park was giving free admission & a concert that day!  We only had one snaffu – Drew fell & got a boo-boo!  But she handled it wonderfully.  You’ll see the sweet photo I snapped of Amy cuddling her later on down in the post.

Thanks so much Wayne, Amy, Drew, & Kate for letting me get in your face with my camera.  I really enjoyed watching you all interact!  Here’s your preview…

Mommy makes it all better

Beverly and I arrived at Kate’s house in the early afternoon to find a house all aflury with bridesmaids, make up, balloons, food, and general commotion.  Kate’s mom, Marilyn said she gave up trying to keep everything tidy, and proceeded to take me into a room behind closed doors that was very clean, and very empty, except for one beautiful wedding dress hanging in the corner.  At that moment, staring at that beautiful dress, I knew we were going to have us a weddin’!

Kate & Joey met (I was told) at Barnes & Noble and both have a love of books.  This was apparent in the unique centerpieces they had on their tables.  I have known Kate for a while, but had only met Joey once.  I was told he was a somewhat private person.  He was quiet with Beverly and myself during his pictures before the ceremony, but at the moment he was able to kiss his bride and call her his own, his countenance changed.  He could NOT keep his eyes off of Kate, and I don’t blame him!  She was, and is, stunning!  I wish you both a wonderful honeymoon and a prosperous new life together.

Enough blabbing, here’s the photos.  It was so hard to choose just these few….

Kate’s dress details & engagement ring

Calvin waiting to walk his daughter down the aisle

The kiss….it was loooooooong!

Mr. & Mrs!

Wedding party

Kate’s bouquet

The rings

Some bride & groom time

Here is Kate’s brother, Colin, singing a song he wrote for her!

Best Man Johann’s speech was hilarious & heart-warming

Joey & Kate can dance!

Daddy’s little girl

Taking some time to eat that cake

Rocking out on the air guitar!