I’m gonna use this post to get you all caught-up on everything going on…and even a few photos from some our recent sessions that we haven’t even processed yet!
……….:::::::::: Personal Notes ::::::::::……….
So the boys are back home now – and it is really like they never left…not even missing a beat, they fell right back into their brotherly “love”, AKA annoying one another until one of them snaps! But it is good to have everyone home and sounds ( and smells ) of little boys in the house. Zach brought a game back home for the XBOX 360, Call of Duty 4 & he was quite surprised to learn his dad has some mad takedown skills! We’re looking forward to a couple family “things” we have planned coming-up and believe it or not – we are taking an entire weekend off to spend some time as a family.
……….:::::::::: Preggers ::::::::::……….
Yep – that’s just what I call her. I love her so that makes it OK, right?!? Erica is doing well, 8 1/2 weeks at this point and fighting through her morning sickness. According to her “baby-center”, the baby is the size of a kidney bean this week. She’s doing great and trying to get me started on taking the “weekly” belly photos – but like many things it just keeps getting pushed to the back burner. One of these days we’ll get to it.
……….:::::::::: Business Notes ::::::::::……….
We are desperately trying to find a healthy balance of our business life and our family life – we are learning to accept that we have been allowing our business to dictate our family time and we are searching for ways to find a balance of the two. Right now we are looking for areas in our business to streamline or parts that we can outsource that’ll free up some time, but still allow us to maintain the control & direction of our business. No major changes in the works just yet though!
……….:::::::::: Photos ::::::::::……….
Here’s a brief set of “teaser’s” from a few of our recent sessions!
……..:::::::: Personal Notes ::::::::……..
Finally – the boys are home from their summer trip to their mom’s – and things are in full-swing around here. Zach just signed to play select soccer again with HUFC – so there goes any sort of free time that we used to have! Yesterday was another major milestone in our lives…we went and registered Zach for high school – yep, you heard it right – HIGH SCHOOL! We walked the school a bit…and man, it’s like it is it’s own small city! That place is huge! So to sum it all up – one in high school (9th grade) – one in 7th grade – and one bun in the oven!
“Very Nice!”
……..:::::::: Business Notes ::::::::……..
Last weekend we went out for an outdoor portrait session and it was like 104 degrees outside! What the heck were we thinking?!? We fought through the heat and were able to capture some pretty cool shots of this little man in action – even if he chose to show us his back! Don’t worry little man – we have our ways of sneaking in some smiles here & there!
Happy Friday people!
You made it – is it just me, or did this week seem to pass extremely s-l-o-w?!? I mean, this week felt more like 3 weeks long…but it’s over, Friday is here and really looking forward to a sushi dinner tonight with a few friends! Yum!
Business is great – and we are extremely busy – and it is all thanks to you! We have the best clients/friends – you guys keep spreading our name and we keep booking more sessions and making new friends! We really love our business! Speaking of booking…start looking real soon for our Christmas sessions information…this year will be a little different as we won’t be offering “regular” sessions, but we will be scheduling a couple days totally devoted holiday mini-sessions! That we can get all our clients/family & friends in this year!
OK, so in case you’re not following Erica or I on Facebook, or reading Erica’s blog or maybe you’ve been on an outback excursion for a couple weeks – anyhow – once more, Erica is pregnant!!! This is huge for us as we didn’t have to go through IVF this time! I know, crazy right?!? Tuesday we were able to see the heartbeat and get a new due date – March 5th. Things are so far so good, other than Erica’s mild morning sickness, and fatigue forcing her to go to bed at 9pm every night! But she is doing great and excited doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel right now!
OK, rambling over – I need to get back to editing….have a great weekend! And what would a post be without a photo (or two)…here’s a couple bridals from a recent wedding that we shot with Dori & Jason at Photogenic Images!
Well as most of you know we are in the early stages of beginning IVF Round 2. I was given progesterone so that I could start my cycle and then go in for an ultrasound before I begin injections. I took the progesterone for 10 days and then was supposed to start no more than 5 days later. Well 5 days comes and goes (I did not want to call right away so I thought I would wait until after the weekend) so Monday it was, 9 days later and I called Dr. Kaufmann’s office (my fertility doc), he said to come in Tuesday for an ultrasound he wanted to check for cysts on my ovaries. So Tuesday 7-7-09 I went to Dr. Kaufmann and got my ultrasound, he looked at the screen and then looked at me and said “Do you know why you have not started your period yet…. Because you are PREGNANT!!!!!” I could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. Pregnant without going through IVF??? I did not think it was possible for my body to do that! I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I was speechless trying to process the information he just told me. This was very similar to the day I found out that my 2 babies that were actually 3! I started shaking and trying to replay over and over again in my mind what just happened. Dr. Kaufmann wanted to get some blood work done and said he would call me the next day with the results. So now I had to go tell Jake, since I was at this appointment by myself. I had already planned on eating dinner at the fire station with Jake so that worked out well. I had to tell a little white lie when I got in the car because this was not something I wanted to tell him over the phone. Dr. Kaufmann wrote Jake a little note that said “Surprise on your Baby!” and we put the ultrasound in it. When I handed him the note he read it, looked at me, looked at the note, looked back and me and was just utterly confused. I told him ” We are PREGNANT without having to go through IVF!” He was just as shocked and over joyed as I was standing in the kitchen of Station 31’s.
I can not begin to describe the emotions that we are going through right now. I know that this little baby (and yes there is only 1) is our little miracle. The baby is a gift from God to us for going through what we did last year, and never doubting God or getting angry with Him. I trusted in Him and knew that he would bless this family with a happy, healthy baby one day, I just never knew that one day would be so soon!! I know that my 3 angels are watching over us and will guide to through life. I know that this was exactly how it was supposed to be, and I am so proud of my faith and my family. Without those 2 things I would not have been able to get through the loss of my 3 sweet boys last year. I know that my faith, family, and friends will be there to support me through this pregnancy and be able to witness the birth of a healthy baby. I know that this is part of our plan. Not only am I blessed to be carrying another child, but our oldest son is moving back home next Saturday.
So we are all overjoyed to say the least and I have now officially told all of my family (yesterday). It was hard keeping it a surprise, but so worth the wait!. Here are the facts that we do know so far..
1. I got pregnant on my OWN!!
2. I am somewhere around 6 weeks
3. My estimated due date (from the RN) is March 6-8
4. HCG level 10,652 – Progesterone level 21
5. I go for 2 ultrasounds on Tuesday and will see Dr. White (for the 1st time) & Dr. Kaufmann (for the last time) and hopefully see the heart beat. I will have more info after my doctors appointments.
Enjoy these pictures and the video of us telling my Mom and family. I look forward to sharing this journey with you again, and pray for a different outcome. Jake and I have decided to take this one day at a time and see what great things God has in store for us and our family. Hope you all had a great weekend!
We had an awesome time shooting their engagement session on Sunday in downtown For Worth! To top it off – we had some great Texas BBQ at Risky’s! Here’s a couple teasers to hold you over! Brooke & Keegan, we love you guys – don’t they just make the best couple?!?
Have a great week!
