family pictures with deanna sammons!

okay, so it's that time of year again. i LOVE this time of year because...it's time for family pictures!!! j has hated hearing those words come out of my mouth every year for the last umpteenth years...but. this time was different...let me back up... so i found deanna sammons earlier this year, and fell in love with her work. i knew i wanted her to do our portraits this year, but with the house selling, and business booming, and us being crazy busy with life in general, i didn't know just how to approach j with it, and make it sound fun, relaxing and worthwhile. it took a *bit* of sweet talk, a WHOLE lotta begging, and a *dash* of guilt trip ( a girls gotta prove her point on the importance of family pictures, and how we will enjoy them years from now ), but he finally relented after he figured out that in the mess of all the chaos going on in our lives right now, i was NOT backing down on this. that whole "pick your battles" thing came into play. it was one i was determined to win, and he's one lucky fella that he realized it sooner rather than later. ;)

anyway, to j's surprise, we had a FABULOUS time! ( the kids and i always have fun with it, j tends to tense up...he's still after all these years of having a camera stuck in his face, not used to it ), but it WAS relaxed, fun, and EASY! we had lots of laughs, snuck in a few *kisses* and really enjoyed being out in a beautiful location, *together*. the kids warmed right up to deanna, who was GrEaT with them, and i ended up getting some of the most incredibly beautiful shots of our family. she was awesome, and i feel really captured who we are, and our family. these pictures i feel show the real us. how we live, and the closeness we share. she somehow has an insight into our family, and the pictures prove that. so, here are some of them...enjoy! i'll put more up later!

who's movin'? WE'RE MOVIN'!!!

YaY!!! we (FINALLY) sold the house! we put it back on the market after taking it off for a month or so, and 2 days later, it SOLD! we are so happy, shocked, elated, stressed, un-believing, and STOKED!!! sooo...it went on the market tuesday, and by thursday we had an offer! it's a couple from colorado, and they immediately fell in love with our home. i'm soooo glad it'll be going to a couple that i think will love it as much as we have the last 6+ years.

as hard as it'll be for me to leave, knowing all the memories we made here, all the "firsts" our kids accomplished here, (potty training, skipping, reading, writing, riding their bikes without training wheels, homeschooling, etc), all the holidays, the weekly family fun nights, the games, puzzles, laughter and tears. i'm excited to get our new house built, and start making memories there...but, it's gonna be hard for me to go. to shut the door one last time and know i'll never walk through it again. know i'll never hear the pitter patter of the kids' feet running to greet me at the door of the only home they've ever known. it saddens me just a little. each of these rooms hold so many memories. there's not an inch of space that doesn't have a special moment etched into it. this is the place j and i have lived the longest since we've been married. it seems like yesterday we were looking at it, and wondering how on earth we'd ever fill it up and make it not look empty. now we're stuffing things in nooks and crannies, because there's not enough room. all of these things said, this has been a great house to us. it's sheltered us from some of life's biggest storms, it's been where we've recieved dreaded phone calls, it's been our refuge, it holds our secrets. and while i KNOW that our true refuge is in Jesus, and our true shelter is in Him as well, this house has been where we run to to get away from the nastyness of the world, and be together. it's our "safe-zone" where the people inside of it love us unconditionally, and faithfully. i love this house. i've outgrown this house. i'll miss this house. (especially when i'm cleaning the new one thats twice the size of this one)...it's a great house, and i can only hope that the couple moving into it thinks of it the way we have, and loves it as much as we do.

we'll be living at the lake for a few months, (how perfectly planned was the completion of the lakehouse)???, till we can get the well and septic dug and the barn built at the land, then we'll move the 5th wheel over there, and stay there till the house is finished. i'm excited, really. truly. i can't wait to pick out wall color, stone, cabinets, floors, etc. i look forward to being deeply involved in the entire process. and, i look forward to completion. ;) j is hoping by the first of summer to be in and settled. that's hard for me to wrap my brain around, since it took MUCH longer than we anticipated to get this house sold...but it sure sounds good!

oh, and one last detail of the sale...we have to be out in 11 days. yes, 11. i see chaos comin' my way...;)

a night with the "sassy girls jogging club"...

these were taken after our "motivational dinner" with bruce jenner, the night before our 5K. we had a blast just being silly, and not really caring what we looked like, or who saw us. love these girls!

the sassy girls jogging club is official!

well, we did it! our first 5K!!! what can i say? i'm so proud of us. i'm so happy that all of us are looking forward to the next one...the turkey trot ( on thanksgiving), in ONE month! we've decided to make this an annual "thing", and i'm so glad. it's much funner ( that's a word in MY dictionary, so don't knock it ) to enter these kinds of things with friends. keeps you motivated, and less likely to drop out! ;) anyway, these girls made it a BlAsT for me, and i'm so thankful for them! just wait till you see the pics from the night before! fantastic!!! ;)

oh, and for those of you who are wondering who the random guy is in the picture, that's bruce jenner, olympic gold medalist. he flew in to speak at the dinner the night before, and start the races...so fun!

knock, knock...

i just love this door. the color, the feel. that's it. just love it. :) have a happy day!

so blessed.

for the way you take such great care of us. for the incredibly awesome father you are to our children. the man of God you are. for the way you lead our home. the way you make me feel each and every day. the smile you reserve for only me. the way my hand feels inside yours. the way i feel safe when your arms are around me. because you'll read to me. because i'm priviledged to be your wife, and see the tender heart that lies within such a manly man. for the "grillmaster" you are. the way you make me laugh like no other. because of the way you are, i don't need "rent-a-husband". ;) you are my everything. my life. my LOVE. i love you baby.

putting off my chores...

i just finished this one...i love the "feel" of it. makes me want to go somewhere. anywhere. especially if it gets me out of cleaning my stove...

a dreamy day...

it's getting more and more crisp each morning that i wake up and jog. for whatever reason, i've been thinking of this picture all day...i'll miss days like this come winter. perfect summer days, kids playing, j piddling around the shop, and me sipping on sweet tea, keeping him company...already sounds like a dream...

jayce the cowboy...

here's some pics from jayces shoot. he was so much fun to work with.