muth’s candy has been around since 1921 making bourbon chocolates.

just go down there, park and walk around. pleasant surprises await…..

sweet pea loves to get her picture taken

lily- not so much.

rylee loves the chickens…. and their eggs

the birds had a feast too!

sweet pea thinks he cute

and so does his baby sister….

i have A LOT of pictures to share. but it’s raining and i’m tired so i will worry about it tomorrow.

for now, this is the only way i can get our picture taken together. time to hire a photographer.

and my iphone does too.

taylor swift

Your little hand’s wrapped around my finger
And it’s so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you’re dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything’s funny, you got nothing to regret
I’d give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won’t let nobody hurt you, won’t let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You’re in the car on the way to the movies
And you’re mortified your mom’s dropping you off
At 14 there’s just so much you can’t do
And you can’t wait to move out someday and call your own shots
But don’t make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she’s getting older too
And don’t lose the way that you dance around in your pj’s getting ready for school

Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
No one’s ever burned you, nothing’s ever left you scarred
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother’s favorite songs
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It’s so much colder that I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I’d never grown up
I wish I’d never grown up

Oh I don’t wanna grow up, wish I’d never grown up
I could still be little
Oh I don’t wanna grow up, wish I’d never grown up
It could still be simple
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up
Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
Won’t let nobody hurt you
Won’t let no one break your heart
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up
Oh, don’t you ever grow up
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up

“i’m 7?”

“right now?!?!

you make me laugh, you make me scream, but i love you no matter….

my family has been wondering when the next ball was going to drop. we have had our fare share of sad occurrence’s. more so in recent years. from my niece’s serious problems, (she is pictured here), to my uncle’s,  motorcycle accident and death, to my grand-father leaving us shortly after my uncle’s death mostly from a broken heart.

we had a bit of down time which was nice. it doesn’t last long though does it? none of us thought it would be my mother getting a breast cancer diagnosis that would break our peaceful streak. I think I can speak for us all when I say, her getting sick was a big shock, as it is for anyone who is diagnosed. but our mother is healthy as a horse. never smoked a day in her life, doesn’t drink, eats well and exercises. she picks up pieces, listens, gives awesome advice, supports our endeavors, spends quality time with her family, especially her grandchildren. always gives thoughtful gifts, insists on paying for our lunch, dinner, AND vacations, comes to our rescue, performs at nursing homes with the “sing along sisters” helping sick people laugh and smile, etc etc etc. in other words she puts herself after everyone else. there is no time for her to get sick. that is for the rest of us, so she can be there to help and make it all better. she said it is much easier to go through it herself than to see it happen to someone else. of course she would say that.

this trip started in june and it has been a fast moving train. it came after a routine mammogram. last year it was clean. she has had one breast removed and started chemo last thursday. didn’t think for a minute they would find the cancer in her lymph nodes, but they did. she has an unbelievable attitude about it. I have seen her worried only a few times. she is doing everything in her power to get well and stay that way. for instance, eating cancer fighting foods, yoga, cranial sacral therapy, walking, praying, etc. she is strong in body, mind, and most importantly faith. after my grandfather died two years ago in february, she was able to look after herself for a change. instead of wallowing in sadness, she picked herself up and found her life again. the stress she had been under for years was going to take it’s toll and I am convinced Jesus knew she was headed for this and he prepared her for it by leading and motivating her to wellness. yoga became a priority. she has made several good friends in the classes. I believe they were God-sent. a few of them who had dealt with cancer told her about cranial sacral therapy and she tried it just to see if it would help some of her ailments. it has and it works. the preparation has helped enormously. the recovery from the mastectomy was so fast it blew all of our minds. we believe the same will hold true for the next several weeks of chemo.

as far as pictures go, and I say this a lot- get them taken! do it when everything is good. do it while you can. do it if you know something is coming. whatever- just do it! I don’t care if you hire me, someone else, or set up a tripod. when you get together with family and friends, take pictures. who cares if everyone is looking at you like you are crazy or turn away when you get in front of them. you never know if it’s the last picture they will ever be in. then get someone to take some of you too. it may be your last. face it- life is right here and death right there. it is that simple. bad things happen and all we have left is photographs and memories. if you won’t listen to me, listen to this guy. he gets it too. I guess it is something us photographers instinctively know and that is why we are passionate about what we do.

 we love you mom, wife, mamaw, great-grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, niece, friend, believer, and we are all here for you. the ones in heaven and on earth.

the following images were taken with kodak porta 400. the more i shoot film, the more i want to ditch digital.

shot with my canon eos 3 and color slide film

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

My favorite of the day. Makes me happy.

We love you!