This year..I am thankful for SO many things…but the word that keeps coming to my mind that is stitched to the very fabric of every area in my life is..PATIENCE. I am thankful for Patience. I am thankful that my husband is patient with me when I get so “tunnel visioned” with work and projects that I forget to tell him I love him as much as he deserves to hear it….I’m thankful for my kids who are patient with me when I tell them to wait a few minutes longer to read a book, because I am on the phone… Im thankful to my family and friends who are patient with me, when they have to call me 2 or 3 times before I call them back…because Im in “hibernation” mode trying to plow through editing and emails…I’m thankful to my Lord and Savior for being patient with me…as I am so prone to have a wandering heart…to find other things to fill my time, than to spend a few minutes reading my devotional book, or spending a moment to pray….& the last….I’m thankful for our amazing clients who have been SO PATIENT with us in our busy season. We have been so blessed these last 2 years with such growth in our photography business…but with that, comes growing pains…new expectations…more expectations…more work…less sleep. We are continually learning the balance between work life, and home life…and how to do the best jobs we can in both roles. Its humbling to wake up and realize you  are not superwoman….and that being everything to everyone is really….hard and overwhelming at times. Im so thankful for everyone who has helped give me encouragement to power through those moments when I am feeling I dont have the energy to finish everything on my plate. We are so incredibly blessed for each and every person who has helped support our business..whether it is an encouraging email from an aspiring photographer in Canada..a mother of bride leaving a kind comment on our blog….or one of our darling brides who waits that extra bit of time for her wedding photos. We are so grateful, so immensely THANKFUL for your patience and love for us…

I wanted to post a few “Sneek Peeks” of some of the weddings and sessions we have not been able to blog yet, since we are feverishly trying to edit as many weddings we can before Christmas time…Hope you enjoy them! Happy Thanksgiving!

1.) He loves “ipad”. He calls it “ipad” like it is his best friend or a favorite stuffed animal from birth. What was purchased for our business has somehow become his other half, who would sleep next to him on his pillow if we didnt pry it from his tiny hands after he fell asleep each night..

2.) His favorite foods right now are probably pistachios and jello. There are many days that he somehow manages to have Jello with every meal. Somedays the sun has not even come out yet, and he is yanking me out of bed….. for Jello.

3.) He LOVES to cuddle. YES he is STILL the child who somehow still sleeps most of the night in our bed. He falls asleep on our bed, we put him in HIS bed when we go to sleep..we wake up…. he’s in OUR bed. How does he do it? Secretly I love it. I love waking up next to my “Boys”.

4.)His voice goes like 20 octaves higher when he sees any type of Buzz Lightyear merchandise.

5.) His favorite thing to do on the ipad is to watch “Angry Bird” tutorials on YouTube. In all different languages. We will see him watching tutorials on how to do other “apps” as well.. we are like..how the heck did you even get to that page?

6.) He is terrified of haircuts.

7.)He adores his sister Kyla…(as he pronounces..KAL-LAH) Some times you would never know his undying love for her… for the amount of screaming and fighting over toys that goes on between them…but it delights him SO much to kiss and hug her goodbye when she leaves every morning for kindergarten..Jason and I melt every time he runs up to her as she is walking the door..I think it’s because she closes his eyes when he hugs her. That is the real deal:)

8.) He is always hungry. Some days I feel bad because I find myself getting annoyed as I am always getting up from the computer to get him his 80th snack of the hour, and 12th glass of v-8 fusion:) The other day, I was trying to finish editing an engagement session, but couldnt get in the groove..because I had already gotten up 3 times to get him a new snack after feeding him a HUGE lunch…I kinda let out a big sigh as I stomped in the kitchen.. I was like “Hayden, why are you always so hungry??” He looked up at me in his diaper, and crazy jungle hair, as he tried to get a piece of goldfish out of his teeth..and he said.. “Dont be mad mommy…I’m just GROWING”… It was so cute, and I felt so lame that I was frustrated…he truly puts things in perspective sometimes…I just LOVE this little monster.

Hayden, you were the greatest “surprise” we could ever hope for. Thank you for bringing so much light into our lives.

I need to take a slight pause for a sec…….because thinking of Cody as a baby seriously makes me want to cry. For those of you who have been a friend of our family for a long time, know that Cody was not only the cutest baby… but he was freakin hilarious. The amazing thing about my parents having Cody when we were in our teens, was that we could 100% enjoy him. Even though we were busy in our own lives with a million activities each day for school and church….I think we all loved coming home from school each day knowing we would walk into the front room to see Cody in his little walker, watching Teletubbies, or THE MOST ANNOYING SHOW EVER “Truck Driver Dave”..which we all wanted to throw out the window, if we knew it wouldnt crush that little chubby heart of his:) Cody was kind of our cute little  accessory, and free entertainment…. that we would show off to our friends..we would dress him up..teach him to say funny things..put kleenex on his head and watch him freak out and hold his breathe…and just enjoy this precious little life that had brought our family so close together….

As seasons of life changed, and as us older kids moved out..got jobs..went our own paths for a while..I think we we all acknowledged from time to time, how much we all missed living under one roof…getting to watch Cody grow up each day…. There are many years we missed out on his first day of school..birthdays…and the most recent thing…when he decided to grow like 3 feet taller!!! All I can say, is that Cody has lived in Las Vegas for the last 7 years or so with my dad, but has now moved back to California to live with my mom..and I am SOOOO enjoying getting to see him on a more regular basis. He is no longer the tiny baby dressed up as a cabage head, or “Got Milk” add for Christmas cards…but he is truly, one of the most amazing freshmen boys I have ever met. Although Cody takes after my older brother Tyler, in that, he is a “man of few words”….I love every minute I get to spend with him. Even if we are sitting at Starbucks just looking out the window together..or he is sitting on my couch letting me listen to one of his ear pieces as he is listening to music…or best yet…when my husband Jason tells him that he is going to start charging him per minute that he is using our computer to be on Facebook…and Cody just gives this funny grin. The same grin he gives me when I call him “Bieber”…I know he hates it, but I just cant help myself…especially when Cody does that hair swoosh thing when he is trying to get his bangs to move to the side….he.is.just.asking.for.it!!!!! Bieber.Bieber.Bieber!

One of the last times Cody came to visit me, I told him I wanted to take him out and take a few pictures of him. He is just so grown up and darling to me, I just had to. Luckily we only had to walk like 2 blocks from us, and we found enough grunge to suit him well. Kyla wanted to come with us..and I thought it was so cute that she wanted to be in every picture with Cody. I had to crop her out of a lot of them..but she just loves her uncle Cody. She thinks he is so silly that he carries so many bracelets in his backpack. But then I remind her, that Cody got the “Crafty Bug” like me, and then she understands:) Cody..I love that you were voted ” Best Smile” in your class this year. Your shy little smile makes me melt. I know there are so many years between us, and you dont remember most of our years we did spend together every day when you were little..but I do…and I have loved you from the very second that mom was eating Corn Pops in her hospital bed, and then out you came. I love you more than you know…but in case you DO want to know….I love you as much as YOU LOVE TEXTING ON YOUR PHONE. For those of you who know Cody…know that those words are like saying “To Infinity and Beyond”….this boy is a professional texter:) But really…  you are are one of the best things that has ever happened to our family…and I am so proud of who you have grown to be….

Because I wouldn’t be a good big sister without a little Blackmail….here are some priceless gems from the early days before we get started on this post…..(sorry for the low quality of these oldies but goodies…they are old school-YO!!!:)

And in case some of you havent met my family before…here is me and my studly brothers from a few weeks ago…

CODY…we love you from as far as the EAST is to the WEST….XOXO.