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Today I am thankful for the fun that Halloween is for kids. Lucy has been busting at the seams to go trick or treating. Seriously, she has hardly been able to contain herself. Justin's parents got here last night around 10:30. Lucy was so excited she waited up for them and when they got here, it was like she was on speed. She went nuts running wild through the house. She didn't go to sleep until after 11 last night. Crazy girl. She was so sweet in her little panda bear costume. And she is thrilled with the loot that she gathered. She got to pick 3 pieces for tonight and that was enough to hold her over until tomorrow. Annie, well she was not so thrilled about Halloween or her costume. We tried it on the other day and she was fine, but today she would have nothing to do with her flower head piece. She cried so hard when she would see me coming near her with it, so we just gave up. :( All of her eye teeth are cutting and I think her mouth is really hurting. Poor baby.

I had a session this morning at 9 and then I shopped from 10-4:30. Nonstop. I got everything done that I hoped to today and after two more stops tomorrow, I will officially be done with Christmas shopping. That feels good!! I am really excited about everything that I got today. Mom, you will be really happy to know that I got several things for myself that you can give me!! I am so thankful that I am your favorite child so that I can get the most presents. I won't tell the other sisters about this, but I think they know. ;)

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Today I am so thankful for Annie's therapist, S. We started with S about 8 months ago. We recently had to stop going to her because our insurance sucks and they wouldn't cover any of the costs, which are high. So, Annie now gets her therapy through ECI. They have been really great, but I was devastated to tell S that we wouldn't be able to continue coming to see her. I feel like I owe her so much because she truly made an enormous difference in Annie's life. And Annie and I both love her. I cried when I had to talk with her about the situation. But because she is wonderful and she adores Annie, too, she agreed to see Annie once a month for free to just make sure that everything is progressing as planned. Today was our day and it is so fun to see S now because Annie has always changed so much in a month's time. Annie actually squealed when we pulled into the parking lot because she knew where we were. So S is pretty much my hero because she is so wonderful. Our lives would be a lot different had we never met her.

I am just waiting for Nana and Grandy to get in town. I have a session in the morning and then I am seriously shopping for most of the day. I have a plan and I will get Christmas shopping done tomorrow and Sunday! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

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Today I am thankful for Nana and Grandy coming in town tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. It is all Lucy can talk about. She tells everyone that Nana and Grandy are coming to take her trick or treating. So sweet!! I am going to finish up everything that I can while I have them here to help. I have totally worked my butt off and I am almost completely caught up. All ordering is done and I only have half of one session left to edit to be officially behind on nothing!! I have one more session here before we head to AR.

The girls were being so sweet tonight. Annie reached up to hug Lucy and when they realized how cute it was that they were hugging, they hugged about a million times. I cherish moments like this because those two are little toots to each other most of the time. And it is not just Lucy anymore. Annie is just as bad. I have big dreams of them having a loving relationship!! :)

I love nights when both girls are in bed asleep at 7:15 - especially on my favorite tv nights. I am off to enjoy a little r&r.

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Today I am thankful for a really hard laugh with the girls. The girls shower with me every night. I swear I really cannot handle the mess that the tub becomes, so I would rather just throw them through the shower. And they LOVE to shower. Our shower doesn't have a door, you just walk into it. I had started the water tonight and realized the girls needed towels, so Lucy and I ran down to their bathroom and grabbed two of their towels and ran back. During the brief time that we were gone, Annie went ahead and got in the shower. The problem was, she was fully dressed - tights, diaper cover, dress - everything. I had a feeling this had happened because as I walked in the bathroom, I could hear her shrieking with joy. Lucy saw her and gave me the funniest look. I could tell she was wondering what in the world I was going to say. Annie was completely soaked, standing in the water, hair all in her face, and just laughing. We all just stood there and laughed for quite some time. She was quite pleased with herself. I needed a good laugh, so it was just perfect!

We had a busy, busy day today. Annie and I went with Lucy to school this morning for Family Celebration. This means that we were invited to her little church program that they do. It was fun and Lucy loved to have us there. Then I made poor Annie run a lot of not fun errands with me - the accountant, the contact/glasses store, and the tailor. She was sick of me throwing her in and out of her carseat, but she was so good. Then we came home and played/worked a little before it was time to pick Lucy back up. After naps I had to take both girls with me to my yearly check up at the doctor. Weird?? Yes. But I had no other choice and didn't want to have to deal with rescheduling it. The girls were really well behaved, so it was no big deal. Annie did not want the doctor touching her though. She was definitely scared she was there for a shot. Annie actually sat on my chest/stomach while I had my exam. Whatever it takes to get it all done. They really were so well behaved, and the office was happy to meet them.

I ended up getting soooo much done last night and today. I am almost all caught up on ordering and am down to two sessions left to edit. I am so dead set on being caught up for two reasons. First, it is Partner's Card here starting Friday. For those of you that don't know what that is, you buy this card (the cost goes to a local charity) and then you get 20% off at every store that participates - which is 750 awesome stores here. So, I plan on getting every bit of my Christmas shopping done this weekend with my Partner's Card. Justin's parents are coming in town, so I will even be able to do it baby free. But the main reason I want to be caught up is because the girls and I are going to Little Rock/Fayetteville next week and I have 11 sessions in 7 days. That is WAY too many, but I can't say no. I do not want past sessions to be hanging over my head when I start those. I want a clean start. Like I have said before, I am just not good at saying no to anyone, especially people I have known a really long time. The good news is, things slow way down once we get that run done. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Isn't that big pumpkin a beautiful one? And take note of just how short Anners is!!










I think she has been practicing some posing when I am not around. :)


She made it this far up on her own today.

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Today I am thankful for making it to day 300!!! So crazy that we are down to only 65 more days left in this decade. Wow. Seriously people, wow.

I feel like I am running on empty. I just can't keep up with everything. I absolutely have to use every second of every day effectively and that gets old. I would love just a moment of calm. The worst is that I feel like the girls are not getting nearly the attention from me that they deserve. We did make a trip to the pumpkin patch today, which was nice for them. The house is a wreck. That has definitely gotten put on the back burner for now. I despise the house being like this. DESPISE it, but I can't stress over it right this moment. Since this is my first ever holiday season as a phototgrapher, I just didn't know what to expect or how it was going to go. I have probably taken on too much, but live and learn, right? I just hope we all live through it!!! :) I can see the effects of me being not as focused as I normally am on our family. It is just hard right now and the next month it will only get worse. At least December and January will be family focused months for me. We will all need that.

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Today I am thankful for getting my hair done tonight at Mandy's house. Mandy's sister did it at her house and that was so nice. That is why I am so slow on getting my post up. I just got back home. I didn't get anything too different done to it, but it desperately needed to be done. I love having freshly highlighted and cut hair!

Lucy had her Halloween party at school today. I took pictures of her but have decided to hold out on posting what the girls are being for Halloween until the actual day. She looked so cute. Lucy insisted on her costume all on her own. It is not what I would have chosen and it seems totally random, but it is really, really cute on her. Anners is darling, too and she didn't seem to have a big opinion about what she was going to be. :)

I am really proud of Annie because she did great at the nursery at church today while I went to Bible study. She does not normally do well in the nursery, so this was a big step. If you notice a little something extra on Lucy's eyes in her picture, that is because every day she puts on a full face of makeup. She recently found some play makeup she got for her birthday and she dolls herself up each afternoon. It is quite bright and sparkly. I will try and get a better picture of it tomorrow. Cracks me up.

Night, night. I need some rest.

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Today I am thankful for the girls' birth mothers in Vietnam. I have no idea why, but the past several days I have thought about both of them frequently. Again, not sure what has triggered this, but they have consumed my thoughts multiple times the past few days. And if I am totally honest, I don't normally have these thoughts. I always think of them on the girls' birthdays or referral days or Mother's Day, but during normal day to day life, this is not the norm for me. I would give anything to show them how much we treasure them and what amazing little girls they are becoming. As I sat and rocked Annie back to sleep last night at midnight, I just felt so blessed that I got to do that job but also sad that her first mom never got that chance. The thoughts and emotions I have been going through are complex. Sometimes I feel like I can't even make sense of it all.

Two more sessions done today. This morning at the park for Ava's session, there were about 5 photographers with families. Holiday season is in full swing for everyone!

Me being so busy with work is not making Annie happy. She DEMANDS every moment of my time when I am here. I don't mind a bit for her to sit with me, but she wants down and to play. She is scared that if she is away from me even a second I will be leaving again. I wish she understood what was going on. I hate knowing that this is hard on her, but I need to be working.

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Today I am thankful for all of our friends that have helped me out with the girls while I have worked. Luckily, I have been able to schedule most of my sessions around Justin being home, but there are some that there was just no way. Every time I have needed help, one of our friends has stepped right up and happily taken the girls. I am soooooooooo weird about leaving them with someone that they don't know really, really well. So, a huge thank you to those that have helped me out and have offered to help. It means so much.

I had a session this morning with such a fun little girl and her mom. She was adopted from Vietnam and I just adore the chance to connect with any families that have been through that process. I think Julie and I could have talked for hours and hours. It was a really nice morning.

The weather has been so great the past few days. The girls and I spent all afternoon outside. Annie wants to be big like Lucy so badly. She wants to be able to climb the jungle gym and ride a bike. She seriously follows Lucy around and tries to do everything she does. Too bad it drives Lucy nuts!





This is quite the outfit we have going here!!

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Today I am thankful for my dear, dear friend Kate on her 30th birthday!! I hope you have had the most awesome day. I sure do wish I was at Bordino's celebrating with you. You are probably look about average. :) Ha. Love ya.

Another crazy day for us. Had to be up early to be completely ready before the girls were up. I ended up having to wake them both up, which we all know is highly dangerous with Lucy. I was so proud of her because for me to have to wake her up and immediately dress her and move her along is not something that she is accustomed to or fond of, but she went with it and that was a huge relief. Annie, of course, was just happy to be alive this morning, as always! I dropped Annie off at Lane's - who I am also super thankful for because she kept my baby for me!! Then dropped Lucy off at school and got to my session with plenty of time. I was worried I would be late to everything, but we pulled it off. After naps, we played with our friends Katy and Ava. They have the most beautiful light in their backyard, as you can see in the pictures.

Tomorrow is another crazy one. I have clients flying in and out just for a session! The pressure is really on for this one but I am ready and excited about it. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

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Today I am thankful for being caught up, even if it is just for a brief moment. I got my most recent session edited and to the client today. I even got it done late this afternoon so that I wouldn't have to worry about it tonight when my favorite shows are on. I love feeling on top of things because so quickly it will be madness again. I start shooting again tomorrow, so I am starting with a clean slate. I like that feeling.

We had a crazy, crazy day today. Annie had to get her flu shot this morning and then we hit the grocery store. We came home, played/worked for a while, made lunch, and got everyone down for naps. Then I worked a lot more before the girls were back up. Lucy had a school playdate this afternoon, so we hurried to that and were still late. We came home and ate dinner with some dear friends, and then rushed around to get ready for bath and bed. Like I said, it has been a whirlwind day and we are all worn out.

Time to veg in my bed with my shows. Yippee.