TESTING 1, 2.................TESTING 1, 2, 3. Just wanted to make sure this thing still worked. Gosh, it's been forever since I've blogged. I've just been so so so busy with photography~ that everytime I get on the computer I'm editing pics or returning emails. I do promise to return back to the blogger/Myspace addict one day. Until then, thanks for viewing my blog & I'll try to update atlest once a month ;)

We are FAM-A-Leeeeee

Last weekend we had a family gathering over at Granny's house, oh what fun it was! It's just great hearing the guitar from my two talented brother's....laughing about old stories & just being together! Granny Linda & Gramps are down for a couple more weeks & I'm really wishing my photography wasn't keeping me so busy~ I really enjoy seeing them. In November it'll be our turn to journey up to their neck of the woods~ after that I know Rob will be ready to move to Canada~ BRRRRRRRR. So here are a few lil' pics from our day! I just love the ones of Braydi & Lyla having their little dramatic moments together....at first Lyla was upset, then Braydi showed her some love, then she is just trying to figure it all out??!!?!? *Note: her shirt reads "Drama Queen"




Lyla started to crawl alittle over there for the first time~ here are a few of her first little scoots~ kinda blurry but she wouldn't hold still;) Today, she is going full blast~ crazy what a week in "baby days" make!

And so it starts.............

all the bickering that goes with siblings! LOL I love this shot.....it really captured what it's like with two kids & one sucker!

Two things I love dearly.........my chidren & photography

I decided awhile back that I would stop taking pics of my Tater in front of the backdrop with prop etc. because he hated it & wouldn't sit still~ it normally turned out with me frustrated & then later when looking back at the pics I didn't like them, because it wasn't a great memory & after all that is what photography is all about. So I had an open mind that I would do a FUN photoshoot with the kids. I went into the photoshoot with the idea of not caring so much about the set up & really trying to have fun with whatever the kiddos did. After telling Tate that my camera made me sneeze when I put my face to it, he couldn't stop laughing! We had a great time & the pictures are more of what I love, because although they are somewhat posed I love the memory behind them~ it was a fun time with a great mixture of two things I love dearly........my children & photography! (Mix Rob in there somewhere & I'd be on cloud nine! Speaking of, we are going to do our family pics soon:) So here are a few pics from the time we spent together laughing & getting sugar highs:)

oh how I love these sweet babies......

Just a few Random pics from this past weekend.

I will not give up............

We are still on the hunt for an old house with a story within it's walls.......I loved this one we found in Ball Ground, but it just was not pratical. The upstairs was WAY too small for us. I loved the tall ceilings & wide baseboards! The floor was another favorite of mine~ the old pealing paint could be lightly sanded & finished so that the white would stay but you could also see the wood~ ewwww, it'd be pretty with alittle love from the Engle Family~ yet I'll keep searching! I know the perfect house is out there, just waiting for us. (it it rest on Yukon Rd, now just getting the lady to sell is the trick) As for this Ball Ground house, it was fun just walking through it....realizing how many dinners were spent in the dinning area, how many children had played in that yard....just amazes me how it is still standing strong & how well built old home were. As we were in the master bedroom I pointed out the light switch to Rob, it was made by GE & was the coolest thing ever....it had two tiny push buttons & had been covered in rust. As I pushed it, I thought of back in the day when the house was new. I love old houses like this one & wished the walls could talk. I googled the address like crazy just to know the past families of the house, but came up with nothing. I wish we could purchase an old home of atleast 75+ with awesome land for the kiddos to grow up on....where they could run free in the woods making forts, and then come home for a PB&J sandwich (well except Lyla would have to have just the J, seeing as she can't do the peanut butter LOL) Anyway, I'm still on the hunt & refuse to give up~ Rob thinks I'm silly since we have a new, beautiful home~ but I really want something different than living in a subdivision for my children. (no offense Tabitha, we'd miss you & the boys being next door) So here's my request~ if you know of the perfect place.....send me an email~ I need all the help I can get. And it doesn't even have to be for sale~ I've knocked on many doors & found that some people are likely to sell.....even if Rob thinks it tacky :) I'm not above being tacky to get what I want♥ I'll post some pics later of the cool blue house I'm in LOVE with on Yukon Rd. later.

She may be little but she sure knows how to make a BIG MESS!!!

This is what I return to when leaving Lyla in the floor playing with Daddy! Her first response was kinda like "uh oh" Then it became funny~ Rob swears she did it all by herself.......maybe she had alittle help from Daddy~ who knows? But it sure was cute for a picture & seemed like she enjoyed every second of it! I guess I won't be ordering from Pottery Barn anytime soon, now that my magazine is in shreads! LOL


Lyla @ 10 months old.

I've been sewing ♥

Here is the little pillow case dress I made for Lyla~ for no pattern and just guessing at the measurements~ think it turned out cute as a button!






Here is alittle outfit I saw on-line and copied~ it was super easy & took all of 10 minutes to make. I love it on her~ has a vintage/boutique look, which I love! It's hard to tell what it looks like in these pics & because she isn't standing~ but it is just the sweetest little thing!







I am so happy to have my little girly to play around with~ by the time she's in High School I'm sure she'll choose not to be caught dead in something I've made at home...so for now, I'm gonna eat it up!

One day I'll miss it.........

Yes, we stumble over little toys all day long. Yes, when I crawl into bed I find several micro machines under my pillow. Yes, when I do laundry there are little metal trains at the bottom of the washer from Tate's Pockets. Yes, Rob & I find ourselves swearing under our breath about all the toys toys toys! But one day I'll be crawling into my made up bed that is toyless, and when I do laundry it'll be missing that little treasure at the end of every load!

I was watching the kiddos play yesterday & realize that although my house is not always clean, it is full of life! My kids enjoy playing in the kitchen floor with toys all around them & in the end that is what they will remember~ they will forget so easily if the laundry was done or if the oven was scrubbed.



As for me & my family we are going to live life as we want....after all no one can do as much as their mother-in-law did! LOL

My sweet Tate is trying to figure it all out......

Every night Tate & I curl up in bed to read his Bible book. We also talk about the stories and I try my best to explain what they mean in a way he can understand. (It is alot harder than you think) We were reading the story of Saul turning to God and becoming known as the Apostle Paul. And then the last story was of the promise for God to come back to bring us home. I've always told Tate that Jesus lives in his heart & He is with him all the time. Well he had been thinking on everything & decided to talk to me about it all once we going to nap the next day. He started out talking about Saul and how he wasn't Jesus' friend then he was his friend & became Paul....I agreed & then he asked if Jesus was coming here? I told him that He would one day. He asked when, and I told him when the time was right. Then he said the sweetest thing I've ever heard....it was even better than hearing him say he loved me for the first time. He said "well, how will he get out of there?" I asked him "where?" and he pointed to his heart! Oh how sweet it was to know that he knew Jesus is with him always. I went to explain how Jesus lives in all of our hearts, when we love & believe in His word. I named off friends and family who has Jesus in their hearts, then he seemed to understand & was not so worried as to how Jesus was going to come out of his heart ♥ Then he asked "well then what will happen when he comes here?" I told him that everyone who did as God tells us to will go to live with Him in a wonderful place where everyone is always happy. He said he didn't want to move there, so I told him that Daddy, Momma, Lyla, Nanny, Nolan, Noah, Nathan & his family, his pawpaw...(the list went on and on) that they would all live there with him....that we'd all be together forever. He seemed satified and said "oh, well okay let's go to sleep now"

As he fell in to his sweet sleep I couldn't help but lay there and smile at him. He is so full of love & tries so hard to understand everything I'm telling him. I am so thankful to have such a loving little boy who will grow to know God & it is all starting at such a young age. I couldn't be more proud of him.

Just wanted to share my sweet little story of my sweet little boy, hope it made you smile :)

Peanuts & Lyla don't mix!!!!!

Oh my....we had such a scare! My poor little baby is allergic to peanuts! During lunch last week Tate was eating a peanut butter sandwich & I decided to share some with Lyla. After a couple tiny pinches of it, we went upstairs for nap time.....alittle over a hour later we wake up & Lyla's face was alittle red, I just thought it was from sleeping....well within 5 minutes she started to break out in tiny hives on her face, they started moving to her neck & chest. I called Rob & decided to take her to the Dr. once I remembered her having the peanut butter.....well by the time I drove 20 minutes to Canton, she was soooo swollen. Her ears were HUGE! She didn't have the bumpy hives anymore, because her complete face & chest were now red & covered her body. The Doctor kinda flipped when we got there, but was able to give her a shot to counter act everything her body was doing...he told me that it normally took 5 minutes, but he would give her no longer than 10 minutes before she would be transported to the ER. I was so frightened. The shot was amazing....she started clearing up within minutes & was playing again like nothing happened. By the time I arrived home to her worried Daddy & brother, her face almost clear & her body was barely red. These are a few of the pics once we were home. You can tell her ears are still alittle swollen, but nothing like they were & her poor lil chest was still somewhat red. These pictures really don't do the story justice....it was bad! But we have an awesome peditrician & he ordered blood work to find out the severity of the recation she'll have to peanuts & all prescribed an epipen...which is a shot of us to give until she can get to the ER. Wish us luck with everything, as I am educating myself on foods made with peanut oil, etc. Hopefully this will never happen again, as it was defently a scary situation. To all you who are close to our family, please remember this allergy she has & please do not have peanuts around my sweet baby girl!

Shrinking Hippo Update!

2 weeks old....






1 month...... 8lbs. 7oz




2 Months.......12lb. 4oz



3 months....(with her new pierced ears)



4 months.....she's smiling and oh so so sweet!



5 Months
It is so cool how with each photo I am able to see Lyla change......each photo holds a new milestone! This month Lyla found her feet! They are her new best friend, (next to Tate). She weighs around 18lbs. I will take her next month for her "well baby check up" and we'll see exactly what she weighs. Oh & check out her new hoop ear rings ♥







6 months
Oh my goodness! Lyla is already 6 months old!!!!! That is half of a year, already gone~ just flew by! She is growing and learning so much. She can sit alone now and she has also gained two teeth! With the hustle and bustle of Christmas I was late posting this but the photo is on the 15th of December when she turned 6 months. She broke her first bottom tooth on the 17th (my Bday) and then the second one came in on Christmas morning....those were her gifts to me, the breast~feeding mother! lol Nah, only playing...I am really thrilled they popped out, cause gosh she looks cute with them~ Lyla is such a happy baby, she loves people and is already rooting for their attention. This month she has changed alot. She cries alittle when I leave the room & she will grab for me to hold her~ she is totally lovin' Mom! Her favorite food is bananas & she loves drinking water from a sippy cup. I can't believe how fast she is growing...so here is the pic, can't you just squeeze those legs!




She is 7 Months!
Oh wow! What a change one month can make...she is so curious & notices everything! The changes have defently happened this month~ Lyla is in l♥ve with Mommy. If I walk out of the room...she cries, if I hand her off....she cries, I know it all stems from love so it's okay. She was so much fun for this month's photoshoot~ (even if I did have my camera in landscape & the pics are green!!!) I redid the shoot & the color look great, but they were missing the story...So I'm going with the green one~ because during the session she finally realized there was a little hippo beside her...she would look at me with a serious look then look at the hippo, then back to me & cry. Then she'd do it all over again. She was just not so sure about the little hippo! So here it is.....my green picture! LOL







Yes, believe it or not I'm finally posting~ I have been so busy with just everyday life & photography that I've totally fallen short on my blog....sorry to all my faithful readers :)

So Lyla is now 10 months old & so full of love. She has changed so much in the last few months. She now has 5 teethers & loves to bite me everytime I brush them ;) She has started clapping in her own little way....by balling up one fist & clapping her other hand on top of it! She l♥ves to play peek-a-boo~ it is something she does all the time! She is so funny....she'll find the smallest little thing to hide behind, thinking we can't see her. I grabbed a pic of her hiding behind a granola bar...it was raised on top of her head & she was looking straight at the camera, yet she was hiding! I just love the stage she is at, she is full of high pitched screams & that big belly laughter! She is defently different then Tate was as a baby. She doesn't like to be touched, as in snuggling (unless she is nursing & laying down for nap) other than that, she will push our hands off of her~ Tate was a love bug & attached to his paci & blankie by her age. Not Lyla~ she gave up her paci on her own...everytime we tried to pop it in, she'd spit it out directly! She also rejects a blankie or snuggly bear. I guess it's a good thing, cause it's one less thing to break later..but I just wanted a few great pics of a little toddler with her worn out bear dragging behind her~crazy i know :)
Lyla has a new nickname this month...we slowly started calling her Lyleeeeee. It has stuck & we call her that almost more than her name~ she responds well to it & I think it's just the cutest thing to hear Tate say. Lyla is saying a few words...her first word was Da-Da, (just like Tater) Then she picked up Bye-Bye with a wave. Her wave is cute, cause she just throws her hand up in the air...like she already too cool for school! Then finally she said Ma-Ma. Just melted my heart! Now she is saying Daw for Dog. And I think she's say Bru for Brubby (which is what we call Tate)

It has been amazing to see all the changes that happen so fast. I remember thinking during my last week of pregnancy, how sad it was for Tate that he would never be the only child again. That he would forever have to share my love, my time, and things would never be the same.....well that was defently true! But I have come to realize now that I love both of my children with no end in sight & that Tate would not trade his sister for the world.

So here is her 10 month pic...I still need to post 8 & 9 months, but I have to search through my tower of discs to find them....not something I want to do right this moment! So here she is~ our little Lyleeeeee.

The highest paying photoshoot ♥

Today I was paid for my work with something far better than money. I spent a couple hours at the local nursing home donating my time and ended up leaving a rich woman. A few of the things I saw will live with me forever. I saw couples who had been married for over 60 years and still in love...... I talked with a man who was 97 and seemed to be living his last years to the fullest. He joked with me telling me "he has this bucket.......and that he was about to kick it" Then he'd laugh a big belly laugh~ he was so full of life & it showed in every word he spoke.





Some people view our elders as "old people" well they are......but that doesn't mean that they weren't once young, that they weren't full of dreams just like you and I. All of the old souls I met today, had a story.....not all of them shared their story with me, but I could read it in the lines of their faces & in the wear in their hands.



I will be posting pictures soon of my favorite photoshoot to date~ the Grandview Nursing home in Jasper, Ga. I hope that some of you reading this will take time to give your self to others~ cause in the end it is the best thing you can do for yourself. I was paid with love, smiles, stories, music & flowers. That to me is far better than money. Another reward for me is knowing that these people will have heartfelt photos for their loved ones to hold dear once they are gone. I feel as if today was a wonderful day for not only the residence of Grandview, but for myself.

Just remember when you give love, you get love! To me there is nothing on earth as great & wonderful as love.

My sweet Kerri Kiker~ you will forever live in my heart

This past week has been on of the hardest weeks ever! My sweet, beautiful friend Kerri was killed in a car wreck on the 19th of January. She was a wonderful girl, a girl so full of life~ a girl who taught me so much about life. At a time when most of us are making huge choices in life (teenage years) I was led by her. She taught me how to put on my makeup, she taught me how to straight iron my hair, how to drive a car, how to smoke~(I didn't say it was all good :), she took me muddin' she took me to the beach, she helped me get a job @ cowboys, she she taught me how to be a good friend, a friend for life!

A couple of my favorite memories of Kerri......My favorite time with her was on night on our way back from Cowboys. We were tired from work and I was dozzing off in the passenger seat when she scream for me to wake up that she saw two shooting stars~ I naturally made fun of her & said "Whatever?!?!" I snuggled back into place, when she screamed again~ she had seen another one! That was how she was~ just always so happy & excited over the smallest things. Well I sat up and watched and sure enough there were several shooting stars shooting across the sky. We didn't know until we turned the radio on that there was a meteor shower that night...so once we got to Ellijay we pulled up to Talona Mtn. and sat by the cross, watching the shower of shooting stars. She was in amazement~ we hung our heads out of her sunroof & puffed on our NASTY cigarettes~ just young and without care....we normally got home around 3am from work, but on this night we rolled in after day light~ we must have sat there for 4 or more hours just talking and soaking up our time together. It is nights like this that I'll treasure forever.....now my sweet friend is among those stars!

Another of my favorite times with Kerri was our "girly nights" We would make our boyfriends leave the cabin and we would get in our pj's (which if you know Kerri that consisted of OVER SIZED GUY PAJAMA PANTS & A SWEAT SHIRT) then we would turn on the Golden Girls and do our facials. The first night we decided to do it, she taught me how to do the whole facial thing...she directed me not to smile or it would crack once it was dried. Again if you know Kerri, that was impossible....so as she came back from he kitchen I took her picture then she took mine~ once she sat down we looked at each other & started to laugh~ we laughed and laughed! Our faces cracked all to pieces. :) She was such a good friend, with such a happy soul.

I'll post our pics from the night of facials once they are scanned.


I'm so thankful to have known Kerri. I will never forget the wonderful moments we spent together~ as for the friends I have with me still. I love you all.