Taking some time..

Last night my grandmother passed away. I will be taking some time to get through this. I am sorry if you are waiting on your pictures or I have not returned your calls or emails. I have never lost a family member until now. I will get back with you as soon as I can. Thanks.

When it rains, it pours..

This morning at 7 a.m. I got a telephone call from my dad letting me know that my grandmother was not doing well. Those close to me know that my grandmother has been in and out of the nursing home/hospital since February with some pretty critical health concerns. She almost died when she was first admitted. She got an infection from a procedure her doctor told her she "had" to have and it nearly killed her. Things have not been the same since. The doctors informed my grandfather that her organs and body were shutting down. It might be a couple days or it might be a week but they are at the point of keeping her "comfortable." Whatever that means.

I am working on two recent weddings as well as several shoots at this time. I am obviously going to be delayed as I would like to spend as much time with my grandmother as I can before she passes. If you email or call and I do not respond right away please understand that this is a very emotional time for me. I have never lost a family member before and I'm having a very hard time dealing with this. There is no "preparation" for death. My grandmother has always been one of my biggest supporters. She has loved me endlessly and loves Kaydence just as much if not more. I took her a recent picture of Kaydence this morning. I can't take her up there because she has been too sick and we have been told not to put her in environments that she might catch other things. The whole morning my grandmother would not put the picture out of her hand. Even when the nurse came in to move her and asked to hold the picture my grandmother told her NO! She was holding her picture and couldn't let it go. That just killed me. This is just killing me. I wanted to leave this with a picture of my her and Kaydence when Kaydence was only 3 weeks old. She would just sit there for hours with her. Please keep me and my family in your prayers to help us get through this trying time.

Happy Mother's Day..again!

I have to be honest. I used to be vigilant about taking pictures of Kaydence once a week but since she turned a year old I honestly have not had time. My mom tells me all the time that I need to take pictures and send to her because she is so far away (Texas). She also buys Kaydence the most adorable outfits and RARELY sees her in them unless she comes to visit. So, I just got this outfit in the mail from her yesterday and I wanted to post them for her. I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!
This one is funny to me.. and yes.. that is her finger on my lens!
Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night..
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

I'm not sure if I am going to have a chance to post this weekend so I wanted to go ahead and post now. Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mommy's!!! I hope that you have a great day. This picture (although technically speaking is not that great) I LOVE it!

It was taken today at the park. I never realized just how motherhood would affect me. As a sit here typing this, I am watching me beautiful girl try and feed her baby doll the remainder of her chicken and dumplings! She continuously melts my heart with just the simplest things. I can't begin to imagine the future when one day she will be a mom her self! Okay.. before I get too emotional.. I will leave you with a few quotes from a Mother's Day email I received today! Enjoy!

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after having a baby. That Somebody doesn't know that once your a mother, you are never "normal!"

Somebody said that if you are a "good" mother, your child will turn out "good." That Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee!

Somebody said a mothers can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books. That Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his/her nose and ears.. OR GET HER FINGER STUCK IN A SHOWER DRAIN AND HAVE TO TAKE AN AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL TO HAVE IT CUT OFF!! Literally!

So, on that note, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Erin & Dominic's Wedding

Erin and Dominic were married April 26th on Pensacola Beach. They had their reception at Hemingway's Restaurant. The weather could not have been more perfect for a beach wedding!!Erin and Dominic are such an adorable couple and I had such a blast at their celebration! Here are a few of my favorites from their day!

VIEW SLIDESHOW

Tagged!

I was tagged yesterday by Jason Lanier, another photographer and also one of my greatest friends. Getting tagged means I have to answer a series of questions that let everyone know a little more about me. So here goes!

The rules-1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. 2. Each player answers the questions about themselves. 3. At the end of the post each player the tags 5 players and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

• What was I doing ten years ago? Most of you are going to laugh at this but I was only 12 years old..starting my freshman year at Walton High School. Needless to say I didn't have many worries except which exam to study for!
• 5 things on my to do list today? Well I have a lot of catching up to do from last week when Kaydence got put in the hospital. I got pretty behind. So..I'm going to: finish Erin and Dominic's Wedding Pictures and slideshow. (I promise I am almost done!) Finish my portraits shoots from last week. Work on Kristen and Chris' wedding from this past weekend. Finish up my shoots from this week and last but not least I would really like to have some time to RELAX..even though it is doubtful!

Sneak Peak:

• 3 bad habits?- Chick-fil-A chicken minis...They are WONDERFUL! Biting my fingernails. Sweet tea.

• 5 places I've lived? San Antonio, Tx- born there, Morrisville, VT- one year..my dad's family is from there, DeFuniak Springs, FL- growing up years, Freeport, FL- part of college years and Milton, FL -first home with my husband and beautiful daughter!

• Favorite Color(s)? Yellow, Pink and Black

• 3 places you would like to visit: Spain, Australia and Mexico (I've lived a sheltered life and have never been out of the country!

• One thing you haven't had time to do lately that you wish you could: Lay out by the pool or at the beach!

• 5 people I'd like to know more about...meaning you're going to be tagged- Heather Stewart, Crystal, Kenzie Shores, Jacob Bergmeier, Kara Pennington!

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts and prayers! We were able to come home Friday night since Kaydence kept everything down that day. We found out later that night that she not only caught the rotavirus (thus the throwing up and dehydration that caused her to be hospitalized), but we also found out the cause of the other problems she has been having. For 7 weeks now she has had diarrhea that we had not been able to find a cause for. I was told it was possible that she had "toddler" diarrhea and it could last up to nine months. Basically there is no reason for toddle diarrhea. My motherly instinct told me that was wrong. Sure enough... I was right.

Kaydence has a bacterial infection in her intestines called C. Difficile. It is a very hard infection to get rid of and only 2 antibiotics are none to get rid of it. It sometimes takes several rounds and can be life threatening if left untreated long enough. She started the antibiotics today. Unfortunately since there is not normally a liquid form so it is extremely bitter and we really have to fight her to force it down her throat. She has to take it 4 times a day for 2 weeks. Please keep us in your prayers that this one round will get rid of it so that we don't have to keep torturing her. I feel so bad. Andy and I both tested a dab from the pudding we mixed it in and nearly vomited everywhere. It's that bad. I couldn't imagine a whole dose!

Andy then caught the rotavirus Friday night and was sick this whole weekend. Therefore I got absolutely no work done! I had a wedding Saturday night and luckily Andy only had two hours before Kaydence went to bed. Sunday I was taking care of both my sick babies! I luckily have still not caught it and hope that I don't!

Other than that, I want to thank all my clients for waiting so patiently for their pictures to go up online. I am working VERY hard to get caught back up before this weekend. Thanks again for your patience and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me!

Please Pray for Kaydence!

I just wanted to give an update to those of you who might be waiting on pictures. I am now a bit behind because Kaydence was admitted to the hospital yesterday for some health issues she has been having as well as a new one..vomiting. So we are hoping to be home by tonight but we won't know until some of her tests come back. Please be patient with me. I really hate being behind but as most of you would agree.. family comes first. I will post later when I have more time. It's not anything life threatening that we know of but what's going on shouldn't be! you and I promise to get pictures up as soon as possible!