Does anybody hear me?

Some things I say EVERY day....

You're not the most important person in this house.
There are other people in this family besides you.
Stop interrupting me.
Stop yelling.
Use your talking voice even when you're mad.
Follow directions.
Stop throwing a temper-tantrum.
This is not appropriate behavior.
Use good manners.
Try again.
Say it without whining.
Try again.
Use your big girl voice.
Try again.
Say 'no thank you' if you don't like something.
Say please.
Be careful.
Girls, be nice.
Knock it off.
Use kind words.
Say your sorry.
Say I forgive you.

And, repeat over and over and over and over and over...and so on. I say this stuff so much I get sick of hearing myself saying it. I'm praying that one day this endless redundancy will have a positive effect, because I really don't want to be telling them this as adults.

I'm too young for this, or so I thought

Me and Sydaleigh were sitting together on the couch yesterday when she looked at my hands and said very enthusiastically....

"HEY! Momma, your fingers look like mine do when I'm in the bath!"

Oh...

Hmmm...

Thank you, that was nice to hear.

I take my hand back, examine my 'pruney wrinkled' fingers, and think,

"Four year olds sure are honest! Geesh!"

I can always count on my kids to keep me humble. :~)

Making progress

Typically, whenever Marvelly doesn't like something she's eating she will simply spit it out.
Whether that be on the table,
the floor,
the couch,
a friends table, floor or couch,
doesn't matter to her.
And it's hard telling when she's gonna do it too, because she really likes food.
So, before I know it, she'll be eatin' a spoon of something and then I'll look up and she's be going,
"puah, puah, puah"
and the food will be everywhere.
But! tonight she was eating a mini snickers and came in the office and said,
"yucky candy, yucky candy",
as she was simultaneously talking with little bits of chewed up peanuts in her mouth.
She randomly decided after eating a good many snickers that she didn't like the peanuts anymore, like I said, ya just never know with this kid.
But, rather than spit them out all over the floor, which I would have been picking out of the carpet, she spit them out in the sink.
She saved her chewed up peanuts to spit them out in the sink!
Bless her little heart!
Ahh, it's the small things in parenting I tell ya.
My little girl is growing up!

Easter weekend

(whoopsie, I meant to post this 14 days ago! Well, Happy Easter again!)

Easter.
It's truly my favorite day of the year.
I love the reason we celebrate.
I love going to church and looking around at the congregation.
I love watching everyone worship and give praise to our risen King.
I love celebrating with everyone the magnitude of His sacrifice.
It's overwhelming.
It always leaves me in tears.

This year was the first year since we've been in Omaha that we haven't gathered together among familiar friends and potlucked it up. This year we decided to stay home and invite a bunch of single people over from Isaak's work. We were busting at the seams in our little home but somehow there was room for everyone. The kids had a ball 'finding' Easter eggs in the back yard.

Isaak had a great time connecting on a more personal level with some guys from work.


And even among the busyness I was able to steal some quiet moments to reflect and take in the grandeur of the day.

We also made Easter egg rice krispie treats, that turned out, well, loaded with sprinkles and covered in chocolate that Marvelly pre-tasted.


took Marvelly to the Easter egg hunt at the base lake (while Sydaleigh went to figure skating lessons)


delivered cupcake plates for our neighbors with a cute little Easter card


dyed eggs, which was a first for the girls.


and then hunted for their hidden baskets Easter morning





These are the girls new dresses. And all I have to say is thank goodness they have a Daddy because if it was up to me they would have worn their Christmas dresses but Isaak was insistent of new, puffy, beautiful ones. I remember being in the store (yes Target) and hearing Isaak down the aisle going, "Sydaleigh, which one do you like, this one, or this one. Marvelly, which one do you like, this one, or this one." (He held up every.single.dress in the store asking them this).
Gotta love a daddy who loves to buy pretty things. :)

The Case of the Mysteriously Washed Toilet Paper

How did we not notice washing a whole roll of toilet paper?
How did it get in the washer?
How did it get transferred unnoticed to the dryer?
Who put it in there????
It's a mystery....that I'm thinking leads to Marvelly........



Washed and dried toilet paper really has a way of sticking to freshly cleaned laundry. We were pulling this stuff out of our clothes for a while, among other places. Isaak came home from work yesterday and discovered a wad of toilet paper stuck inside his belly button because it had been stuck inside his shirt. But all I could think was, "never mind not noticing the toilet paper stuck to the inside of your clothes....how do you NOT notice toilet paper stuck to the inside of your belly button?!?!"

Birthday Ball '10

This years 55th Wing Birthday Ball went off with out a glitch. :)

The girls helped me get ready. They waited ever so patiently in the bathroom watching me do my hair and put on make-up, until the time finally came for them to help me with my dress and shoes. ( Sydaleigh was very worried that I was taking too long in the bathroom and I wouldn't have time to get dressed. She didn't even want to go outside to kill time while I finished up, thinking I was going to get dressed without her. ) Her mind was swirling with delight thinking about her mommy and daddy going to a real ball, just like her princesses. And so I made sure to let her be a part of it in any way that I could. And she was thrilled thinking that I needed her help to get dressed and put my shoes on. :) Ahh, the simple delights of a child.

We sat at a great table, had fun mingling and shmoozing, laughing, eating, everything but dancing. (The event lagged on longer than expected and we had to head home to re-leave the sitter, so no dancing.) But everything else. Isaak had fun this year because so many from his clinic attended. It was a fun night. Nothing major to report, no catastrophes or malfunctions of any kind. Completely uneventful, which I appreciated. :)



Uh-oh! Where'd I go?! Why did I stand in front of the black curtain to take pictures?! My dress blends in completely!





To a great year!

Tech Sergeant Brooks

Isaak was promoted! Whoop woop!

After waiting a year from finding out he made Tech, he was finally able to sew on officially April 1st. We're so proud! This has been a long time coming and Isaak couldn't be happier.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow Isaak convinced me to bring the girls to his promotion ceremony at the club. I must have split personalities because I actually agreed to take them, thinking it wouldn't be too bad.

Lesson learned. :)

(Here they are eating the suckers I brought that I was sure would last them the majority of the ceremony. Wrong. They chowed those suckers down before the opening prayer. )

In true Marvelly fashion she talked through the whole ceremony....loudly.

She made sure to tell me during the opening prayer (which was very long) that she didn't approve of the crackers I was trying to forcefully give her to keep her quiet,

"NOOOOO!! Not that one!" she said over and over and over again....making sure to disturb anyone who was hoping to have a quiet moment with God.

She then proceeded to tell me, as well as the rest of the audience, in her not whisper voice, the number of 'daddy's' up in the front,

"LOOK MOMMY, FREE DADDIES!!", over and over and over again.

The more I told her to whisper, the louder and louder she talked. Of course.

I tried to downplay the noise level thinking she wasn't being as loud as I was envisioning, maybe it was just my overly sensitive mommy ears, so after the ceremony I asked Isaak,

"So, honey, did you happen to hear Marvelly during the ceremony?"

"Which time, when she was talking about the crackers or counting the daddies?"

Ugh. Seriously, every other kid in that place was quiet as a mouse!

Why do my girls always have to be the noisy ones!

Even Sydaleigh, my four year old.....the one that knows how to sit quietly was momentarily possessed because she uncharacteristically kept blurping out,

"MOMMY, I NEED SOME WATER", over and over and over again...."ahhh, be quiet!!!!"

As soon as Isaak's name was called, we went up front, took our picture, and got the heck out of there!

I hope they remember seeing daddy promoted and going to a military function cause that will be the last one they see for a long time!

I love that Daddy is always Daddy, regardless of the uniform he wears. They'll cling to his legs and plead to be picked up, no matter what. He'll always be there Daddy first. :)

getting ready

for the birthday ball tonight!

I'm hoping that this year a lot more uneventful in the wardrobe department.

Due to last years mishap this years dress doesn't have a single zipper, button, clip, zilch, nothing! It's all material, that's it!

Can't wait to get away for a while tonight, the girls have really taken it out of me today.

Will try to post pics and all the evening's details tomorrow. :)

Portrait Project at the new Lydia House

Last Saturday I did my first Portrait Project in the newly finished Lydia House, and it was amazing. The facility was spectacular, down to every last thought out detail. It was a little bit different than working in the old Open Door Mission building, this time we actually had to carry everything in ourselves! Don't get me wrong, I do not mind carrying my own equipment, that's not it! I just remember pulling up to the mission and watching the men rush out to the cars, eagerly awaiting to help unload and be of any service that they could. They never waited to be asked if they would help...they just helped, and they did it joyfully. It was very cool.

So this time, like I said...it was a little bit different. New building, new director, (I'm no longer working with Ronda since another gal took over the graduation program,) a new face in the hair department. The lovely Maggie, a professional hair dresser came with us this time and lent her hand to style up the graduates. Holly is no longer here so I was a gal down in the make-up department. But, turns out Liz just so happens to know a MaryKay consultant from Mops who donated a massive box of products for us to use. She was actually getting ready to drop off the box to the Lydia House when Liz called her, and was more than happy to donate to our cause. So in addition to providing make-up again we were able to put together little goody bags of product for the women to take home. I love seeing God provide!

But, despite all that newness....something else was different this time.
Something bigger.
Something I didn't anticipate happening.
Among the chaos and excitement of the day, working in a new location, working with new people....I did not photograph all new faces.
There were a couple among us that weren't new...and I almost missed it.

Every night before a portrait project I pray that the Lord would provide opportunities for me to connect with the men and women, to use me to uplift them, bless them, love on them, and share His love. I pray that I wouldn't get caught up in the chaos of the day, but that the Lord would give me His eyes, to see these men and women the way He sees them. So.....

The day started off hectic, as it typically does-trying to hurry and set up my equipment before everyone starts arriving. This time around I bought a new paper roll rather than use a muslin backdrop. I didn't want the hassle and time restraint of having to steam all the wrinkles out during setup, which takes forever, plus I just wanted to change up the look a little, so I went with a paper roll. But nothing is without complications and the backdrop, while seemingly more convenient without the ironing, the darn thing kept unraveling before I could clamp it. So, set up took a little bit longer than I anticipated and the graduates started filing in...early. Which meant I was already behind, and the day hadn't even started....

A number of the graduates had already come prepared and didn't take major use of the hair and make-up department this time around, so the lounge where I was set up was getting crowded with people waiting their turn. However, everyone was very gracious and laid back, not upset about starting late and waiting past their time. So I was able to crank out the first four graduates quickly and get back on schedule.

But, I was now in a zone. I allowed myself to get sucked into the chaos, and I was losing focus.

That's when the fifth graduate of the day stepped up. He was an African American man, tall, glasses, and wearing an outfit that complimented the background nicely. That's what I saw.

I started photographing him and was about ten frames into his session when I heard,

"Look at him."

At that moment I was looking at him through the viewfinder on my camera getting ready to take the next shot...I paused...."What?" I am looking at him" I thought back.

"No, look at him...not through him."

*exhale*......"Oh"

In the second that followed with the camera still up to my eyes, I finally looked at him. Stunned by what I saw I brought the camera down, looked at him face to face and said,

"hey, I know you."

"I've photographed you before."

When I finally looked at him I realized I recognized him from the very first session I held at the Open Door Mission a year ago. He was back. And I almost missed him.

He could see the perplexed look on my face, wondering why he was here again, and told me that he went back to jail and had to start all over.

*Gulp*

I was not expecting that. I've always gone into this thinking that this was it for them. This was their 'turning of the page', their new start, a chance at a new life leaving behind what brought them here. I don't know where this notion came from but in my ignorance I never once thought that I'd be photographing them again.

Charles wasn't the only "returning" graduate I photographed that day. I didn't realize until I got home and started sorting through the pictures that there was something familiar about another. She looked completely different. She had two kids with her this time. I never would have recognized her if it hadn't been for these little tattoos she has on her fingers. As I looked at her pictures and noticed those tattoos I thought,

"I've seen those before."

I looked back through the pictures from previous sessions and there they were, the same tattoos on the fingers of a girl I also photographed that first time with Charles a year ago. I was stunned. I couldn't believe it was the same girl. A year ago she was lively, energetic, warm, and more than anything else, confident...and proud. This time...she was reserved, quiet, and a lot more self conscious. Not having recognized her at the time I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her and find out why she was back. All I know is that she was back. Repeating the recovery program. And that made my heart hurt.

The rest of the day was amazing. God pulled the shades up off my eyes that I didn't know I had down. He provided opportunities to uplift, connect, bless...we laughed, and talked and joked. And He provided some serious insight into their lives that I was missing before. Realizing that, for some, it is not so easy to cut ties with their past. It still haunts them. It still taunts them. For some, their past doesn't care about the program they went through. Their past wants to destroy their recovery. It doesn't care that they've been clean and sober. The past fights with them to resurface. Their past wants to drag them back under.

For some, this isn't always a new beginning.

For many, this is a lifelong battle.

Their stories that led them here are heartbreaking. But the stories that are helping lead them OUT are hopeful. God fused. Determined. Many may waver...but at least they come back. They keep trying. They refuse to let their past circumstances win. They fight. And with God's help they.can.do it. We all can.

Meet two of the graduates I photographed....

This is Donald-I met him last September at the mission and I told him when he came back as a graduate not to shave his beard, I think it suits him nicely. He told me he didn't have anything else to wear to his session...and I told him that what he had on was great. Because it's him. And I thought it suited him nicely. We got to talk to him for a long time. He has been sober for one year...his longest time since the 1980's. In spite of everything he's endured, this man was so joyful, I mean, oozing joy, and I count it as a blessing to have been able to spend time in his company.

This is Clarence. Can you guess how old he is? Just take a gander before you scroll down and see.

Clarence is 54 years old. I know, I was stunned, I couldn't believe it either! Anyways, Clarence was awesome. I don't have tons to tell about him, I didn't get his life story or even what brought him to the ODM. We just shot the breeze. We mainly just talked about family, his family. He has a daughter named Paris who is studying to be a surgeon right now and that man is one proud papa, I pray she's proud of him too.

you can visit my photo blog at www.mjsphotoshoppe.com to see more pictures from this event.

A big THANK YOU to Kara, Liz, Amy and Maggie for volunteering your time and talents and working along side me!

Side ponies are never out of style

we totally rock the side pony in this house.