senior shootout // atlanta, ga
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its that time of year...
/hi.
so it is that time of year...where the excitement of all things re-newed and that overwhelming sense of the "what if's" fill our minds. the dreams, the goals, the motivation to change. to do better.
I am with you. this year that feeling seems to be a little stronger... it seems to be pulling a little harder and the cheers seem to be a little louder in my mind. that "Spanki, you can do it! you can dream and you can plan and this year YOU WILL SUCCEED" has got me so excited for the year to come. I am not sure why this year I am more excited, more ready to face whats ahead, maybe it is God telling my soul "You got this"...but I am. I am ready.
this year I will let go... let go of the things holding me back. let go of that voice saying I am not enough. let go of things I can not change. let go of other peoples opinion.
this year I will love... I will love and nurture relationships that are worth investing into. I will love harder and with more intention. I will accept the love I receive and I will accept the love I give...it is enough.
this year I will live... I will live richer. I will take life in. I will breath the air around me and be aware of every moment as it passes.
this year I will feel more... I will cry harder and longer. I will smile bigger and laugh louder. I will allow myself to really feel each moment.
this year I will push myself... I will push myself physically. I will push myself mentally. I will challenge myself and I will challenge those around me. to do more. be more.
this year I will not allow someone else to defeat me... I will not be frozen by words. I will not let others determine my self worth. I will not.
this year I will take control... I will stand up for myself. I will listen to my dreams. I will believe in myself.
this year I will travel... I will pick two places I have never seen before and do everything I can to get there. I will explore my own city. I will discover something new. I will be enriched by this world around me.
this year I will slow down... I will live in the moment. I will relish the good and learn from the bad.
this year I will give my life to God... because in the end no matter what I want and hope for myself...HIS plans are grater...so if none of the above happens the way I want...it is okay because I know HE is in control.
ok and here are a few personal legit real ones..
I will accept that age is just a number...especially around October 15th when I turn a year OLDER! that being said... I will religiously keep up with botox, bc if age is just a number I should be able to look any age I want to pretend to be right?
I will stock pile some root touch up kits, lets get real if I don't have wrinkles thanks to botox, I shouldn't have gray hair either.
I want to BADLY take my children on a road trip... and I KNOW that after about 10 minutes in the car I will be rethinking this dream BUT I plan on getting us to san fransisco and do the Hwy 1 road trip down the coast.
I knew I had Italian roots somewhere in my blood line... but I found out in 2015 that I am in fact one quarter italian... thats a LOT, which leaves me to believe I need...MUST travel to Italy to visit my heritage. So a girls trip to my mother land is on my list for 2016.
I dream of collaborating with some amazing photographer influences and inspirations this year...some of which are already in the making....eeeeeek!
what else??? I am sure I will think of a few more as soon as I hit "publish" on this post...but this will hold me over for now!
HAPPY NEW YEAR friends...here's to an amazing 2016!
share with me at least one of your new year goals/dreams....
Delight and Be.
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I am honored to be able to donate a mentoring session to help raise money for the Delight House. To see more on the houses progress and to hear about this amazing cause visit Delight and Be .
Mentorships are on SALE for $250! Y'all that is NUTS! A FULL HOUR for #250!!! and it goes to an amazing organization! Let's chat about photography, business, time management, ANYTHING...I am an open book and ready to hear your heart and goals and help get you where you want to be! Go to the Delight and Be Store and sign up now... you only have a few days left!!!
Life's a dance.
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"The longer I live the more I believe...You do have to give if you wanna receive. There's a time to listen, a time to talk....And you might have to crawl even after you walk. Had sure things blow up in my face, seen the longshot win the race.
Been knocked down by the slammin' door. Picked myself up and came back for more".
Life throws you curves. Life is not always easy or fair... but it is ALWAYS worth fighting for. I have allowed life to get busy, to take my attention away from my children...my daughter more so than any. I have allowed adult situations to stand in the way of a very carefree and light hearted relationship... and I have seen my mistakes. I am a lover, but more than that... I am a FIGHTER! I will fight with all I have in me to make sure my children KNOW how much joy they bring me. How my heart can not beat without their laughter and hugs. Today is a new me... today I start "life's dance"...MY WAY
SUMMER GIVEAWAY
/Start your summer off with not one but TWO awesome GIVEAWAYS! My friends over at WOODSNAP are gracious enough to not only give my fans a chance to win a 16x20 if you enter the giveaway on Facebook... BUT you can also enter to win a collection of FOUR 8x8s on INSTAGRAM! Go join us simply by following the rules per post (FB: like the post AND woodsnap, share the post right off my page, and win! IG: like Woodsnap share the image and hashtag #spanksters to enter)
Not only do I love my own woodsnaps but my clients LOVE them as well. I have several clients print their images on wood and are always so pleased with the compliments they get from their art piece. AND as you know, I am an iPhone lover and when I travel I always try to print a few of my phone images on a woodsnap. Now you have a chance to get your very own images printed on wood and see what you have been missing! They take an average image and make it a piece of ART! My walls can't get enough!
Winners will be announced Monday June 16th. JOIN US.
a little of who I am...
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People see that we are moving...AGAIN. I am getting asked several questions... here it is...here is ME.... part of my "story" starts like this... We were 21 years old with a baby on the way. Both of us had to quit college to start our journey in the "adult" life we chose. We did all we knew to do with a baby on the way, we bought our first home... and we bought a home that was a "good deal". We put a little blood, sweat and tears into that home. We painted (those of you who know me, know that painting and decorating is where my heart is) inside and out. Put new flooring down, changes a few light fixtures and got it all homely and perfectly us...
Then we realized, if we listed it, we could pocket a pretty good little penny. So what the heck... we decided to list it and just see how it goes... long story short that was 15 years ago (and 16 houses and 7 tracks of land ago) and we are still at it. At first I fought it. It was unconventional and not the "norm". We were talked about and we heard the whispers from miles away. Why couldn't we just be happy with what we had? Why we were always trying to live above our means at such a young age? Why didn't we have 8-5 jobs with insurance like the rest of them? We heard it all. and yes... It made me question what we were doing...but deep down I loved it and it was ALL we knew to do to "make a living for our family". I was proud of us. We had the world stacked against us. No one said we'd "make it" at 21 and no college education. But we fought. We fought hard. Maybe we didn't do it the way everyone "expected" or saw as "right" but none the less...we DID IT. .It was just a way of life for US and honestly it has become something we really enjoy and I find myself craving the next remodel project.
Sometimes we buy old houses... sometimes they are foreclosures. Times we have built and others times we have just bought raw land and cleaned it up and sold it.. we never know what our next project may be.
We have been questioned. Made fun of. Put down for not having a "real job" but none the less, we haven't given up. We keep going. Keep living the life WE WANT and ENJOY. Whether it makes sense to anyone on the outside or not. This is what OUR family does. As our kids have gotten older we have decided NOT to continue if they chose they don't want to move...but they don't mind. They get excited to go look at old home and see the potential in what it can be.
so, yes, I move... actually I move a LOT. And it is okay. It is just what we love. I love to find a home someone has given up on and go in and give it the love it needs. 
With every home we purchase we never know if this will be the last or if in a year we will have a for sale sign in the front yard. We leave it up to God to lead us and if we love it, we stay...if we are ready for a new adventure (which most of the time we are) then we pack it all up and find the next one. We know that no matter what four walls surround us...it is the people inside that make it a HOME. 
So do not get surprised if a year from now you see we are moving again. We just never really know...and honestly I love it like that. If you follow me long enough, you will get used to our crazy life and I ask you just embrace it with us! :) I will be posting our journey here so if you want to see the dilapidated piece of a craptastic house we are buying and watch as we give it love and try not to kill one another or strangle our kids in the process...check back often but HERE is the first of many post. We close the middle of June! if you are good at painting/construction/design/marriage counseling...contact me ;)
dream BIG
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Sometimes when we dream BIG we get scared. Scared we can not do what it is we are dreaming of. I have found if I write down my BIG idea or dream, then make a list of smaller tasks to accomplish to get myself ready I don't seem to be as doubtful of my ability to reach for that dream...if you care, list one BIG dream you are reaching for and share with me 3 things you can do to get yourself closer to your goal! :)
Imperfectly perfect | PRINT your memories
/The room went quiet as if time stopped. They were words I never expected to hear. Disease. No cure. Amputation. This can't be happening. Not to me. This is stuff you hear other families experience, NOT mine. He is a normal two year old. He looks just like his twin brother. How will this effect him? How will he get to be a BOY without a leg? This is NOT what is happening.
After I picked myself up from the floor. Weeping and holding my baby as tight as I could, I did what any desperate mother would do...I called to set an appointment with a different doctor to get a second opinion... and then...
I called a PHOTOGRAPHER.
I desperately needed to document our lives before our new "normal" set in, the one I couldn't truly grasp could become MY reality. Bare feet and shorts. I needed a photographer to capture my three boys, each with a set of HEALTHY legs. One day he might not remember he was in fact seemingly perfect on the outside. That his leg was made of flesh and not plastic. That he could wear shoes and socks and have stinky feet just like his brothers. I needed that to be something he could hold onto when the days ahead got to hard. I needed that to be something I could hang onto when the days ahead were too much to bare.
Grace be to God that the diagnosis was indeed CORRECT, however we were lead to a doctor that was persistent in trying an experimental surgery and my son not only HAS HIS LEG but is healthy and in normal activities. He is also in medical record books for being the FIRST kid EVER to keep his leg with this particular disease!
*Image taken in 2007. Canon 20D and iPhoto edit. But it hangs LARGLY in my home and in my heart.
*Image taken in 2007. My most perfectly IMPERFECT favorite image EVER. shoes are on the wrong feet. The fat baby hands... the dimples and snaggle tooth grins... as years passed, THIS has became nothing more than a fading memory. One no matter how imperfect the image, will last with me a lifetime because I have this image.
A few years later...
It was 1am. The phone rang... oddly I knew what awaited me once I picked up. "He just took his last breath". Gone. Cancer won the battle and took my father away from those who loved him.
I slowly slipped out of bed not to wake anyone... walked into my office, turned on the light and dug through the photographs I had. I sat on the floor and as I flipped through the images I paid extra attention to details I had never really noticed before. His hands, that smile. It was almost like I could hear his voice. I sat there and wept over those images for the next few hours. The reality has become that these photographs and my memories were all I had left of my dad.
A few years ago I had a client. A lovely woman. Dressed to a T in her red soled shoes and always carrying her purse adorned with the designers initials. Her images were beautiful and she did loved them, but she just didn't invest in them. Sure her order was fine. It was on the average side of my client orders at the time. But oddly this angered me. It angered me knowing that she cared enough to invest into her shoes and handbags more than the precious images of her family, the life she LIVED. If not for her...for her children. One day, when her kids get that dreaded phone call, they will not get up at 1am to weep over her hand bags. Her grandkids will not sit holding her shoes and tell of the memories they had. No, they will pull out the images they had of her LIFE. The life she lived and recall the fun times and possibly the sad but all over PHOTOGRAPHS.
*image taken in 2006 and iPhoto edit. Early morning. Yesterdays makeup. Me in my pajamas and Paysli in a diaper and shirt. Held the camera myself and snapped hoping for the best... and I GOT it!
Yes photography is about ART. But more than anything photographs are about the he.ART of your loved ones. Photography is about capturing the moments in your LIFE that are inevitably going to change over the years. Get your family photographed and PRINT THEM... you never know who will get the most memories out of them. Hang them on your wall. Display the love you have with your family and friends. They do not need to be perfect...just perfect to YOU.
*Image taken 2011. Dirty jeans. Untied shoes. It is perfect to ME.
Free to dance...
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Sometimes it is hard to just allow yourself to be FREE. To follow your heart and go where ever it takes you. I have been struggling lately with allowing myself to SLOW DOWN and listen to what my heart is telling me. To dance outside my comfort zone and allow all fear of judgment, approval, and opinions to leave me.
I have recently decided it is my turn to dance. To be free and see where the music takes me. Some might like it, some might hate it....But in the end I will DANCE... to my own beat and I will LOVE ME. I will no longer allow myself to live in doubt. I will not second guess my art and I will not listen to the words in my head that allow me to question who I am. Today I have decided...
Today, I DANCE.
Spank.stagrams | giving from the heart…a life lesson
/a baiting suit barbie, new baby diaper bag, the iPad air… it is that time already, time to get the Christmas Gift list. My three boys, our little PayPay, the in-laws, my parents, his brother, my 3 nieces, my sister and her new husband… the list can go on and on…but lets face it. I am not sure about all of you but I am OVER how we do the holidays. When did we go so far off path. Why is it ALL. SO. WRONG. What am I teaching my children? We are easily too consumed with "What did I get so and so last year and how am I going to out do myself this year"…Really? Money is love? I was done. I was not going to participate in Christmas festivities if THIS is what it was going to be like. I was pouting. I begged my husband to pack us all up and lets just take a family road trip and escape it! Well that didn't go over very well, we do still have to have Santa come to our home and I do want to have memories as a family in our home. So we decided to make a change. We already did the 3 gift rule with our children…you know the "If Jesus, our SAVIOR was given THREE gifts…why do you deserve more" rule? We don't limit them to read, wear, want… but we do give price limits (y'all 4..FOUR kids is a LOT to buy for). But every year it isn't the kids we end up stressing, it is the family… the family that SHOULD already know that the holidays aren't about GIFTS, it is about LOVE and TIME together! But it easily gets out of hand. This past year we decided to teach our children that it isn't the amount of money you spend it is the thought and heart you put into it. So we had a family gift making day and build our gifts!
A few months before Christmas I was in a very nice boutique full of amazing home decor. I was immediately drawn to the large horse silhouette on barn wood hanging above the bed… went over to see the price and saw $1,500.00!!!! Um YIKES, I was in the WRONG store! So this was it. THIS is what we were giving to our family. and we did.
1. the inspiration that cost $1,500.00
2. the kids did EVERYTHING, we even let them use the saw with daddy's supervision.
3. distressing the wood happened to be the crowd favorite!
4. measure once…cut twice? yep that is what you get when 12 yr olds are doing your measuring!
5. STILL distressing… that was the FUN part
6. staining the wood…and every piece of clothing we were wearing and a little bit of our skin too!
7. every one of the kids had to participate in each step of the project
8. we keep on waiting… waiting for the boards to dry (in my best John Mayer voice)
9. then we had them dry brush white paint over the stained wood and scrape it off with a wire brush
10. we added 2 strips of smaller stained wood
11. I hand drew the horse outline and let the kids color it in
12. STOP…hammer time!
13. we used chalkboard paint but that was only because it was what we had in the garage.
14. FINISHED!!
15. pretty close to the inspiration if I do say so myself and ours ended up costing us less than $80 and had 100% more LOVE!
Gifts were give to the grandparents and the tears began. it was the most rewarding moment for our kids to see their efforts so greatly appreciated and loved. The kids area already starting their search for what we get to make this year…YAY Christmas is back to fun, exciting, and THOUGHTFUL!
*we made the same thing, just a bit smaller for the aunts and uncles knowing the size homes they were going into.
the journey
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THERE IS NOT ONLY ONE WAY TO LIVE THIS LIFE.
There is only ONE way to be YOU. start today and live YOUR life the way you have always wanted. Don't spend so much time over thinking it that you miss out on actually LIVING it!
If you are an ARTIST you know there are no lines, no boundaries, no limits to what you do and how you create it. You can know everything or nothing at all and if you create how YOU create...then one is no better than the other. TODAY stop being scared of what others will say and how hard they will judge. People who judge have lost sight of who they are... YOU go, YOU be, YOU create, YOU live YOUR journey.
MUCH LOVE
I challenge you.
/I will be honest. I struggle. I struggle with my self image. and I know many of you do too. I do not know why us women have such a hard time loving ourselves but we do. I have seen it from every age to every size to every nationality. We struggle to love ourselves. We are our own worst critics and I am so over it. I want to see a picture of myself and not immediately spot out the faults I see in myself and see and LOVE myself. I know that God made me perfect, WHY do I have such a hard time seeing the good in myself? Why do you? I can tell you a thousand times over how beautiful you are and you STILL will not believe me....am I right? I know for myself that is truth. What do you see when you look at these images of me?
I will tell you what I see... (you have NO idea how hard this is for me. to see myself...THIS many of myself...right in my face and now in all of yours) FIRST notice not ONE image I am smiling... I HATE my smile! hate it!! But I am a very happy person so it is almost funny that I let others see me as serious. And PLEASE PLEASE do not tell me I am crazy, I am NOT doing this so you can tell me I am pretty or being silly, I am being completely RAW with you guys and reminding you no matter what we ALL have a hard time seeing ourselves how others see us... so here I go....
1. I immediately see old skin... I see, clearly the zit. BUT most of all I see my jaw line... I got it from my father, I am not even sure, I chalk it up to big teeth in a tiny mouth. who knows but I hate it!!
2. hello nose and big ears... ears are such weird things don't you think?
3. only posted this one because it is the perfect distance AWAY from the camera for me! THIS is my comfort zone area.
4. okay YIKES.... I am seriously sweating while I write this post... this is NOT fun, but I am determined to get the stupid idea of hollywood perfect out of my mind... what is the deal with my neck, again the JAW, nose, thin hair...and to make matters works I am crinkling my forehead! nice.
5. jaw, but I do like that the glasses and hair hide the rest of my face.
6. NOSE. old skin, and forehead
7. there my nose is again! and now you are all seeing my very new and oh so hated sun/hormone spot between my eyes! ugh it keeps getting worse.
8. jaw and nose...and I cropped it so you can't laugh at my big forehead!
So now that I am ready to vomit from having to really open myself up and tell you what I see when I see myself... NOW you know why I want you to join me in a challenge. 30....OMG did I just say THIRTY days of selfies! We can do it... right???
Instagram, twitter or just for yourself (although I do feel like sharing your images will force you to be more brave)
Starting TODAY. hashtag #lovemyselfie #spankimillschallenge
Many of us are busy and can not guarantee we will actually be picture ready every day so I am giving you a list of ideas to try. You do not have to do them in any order, but thought a few suggestions would be fun and you can interpret them however YOU want!
1. Daily life 2. Reflecting 3. Black and White 4. Far 5. Angle 6. Raw 7. Light 8. Sun 9. Exposed 10. Color 11. Mood 12. Soul 13. Natural 14. Love 15. Loved 16. Low 17. Above 18. You 19. Mirror Mirror 20. Messy 21. Vulnerable 22. Motion 23. Laughter 24. Alone 25. Still
I only listed 25 because I can think of more than one way to shoot some so you can repeat them if you want! (I have never done a challenge before I have no clue how to do this) ;)
TOOLS/Apps TO HELP: TimerCam and PicTapGO are my faves!!!
a day with spanki | ATX style
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The workshop house in Austin was so amazing that Amy and myself HAD to do a quick photoshoot before we locked the door and returned the keys. This had to be the best weekend I have had in a very long time!!
so meet Kelly. Workshop attendee who added headshots to her "to do" list while she was in Texas. I have never seen a client come more prepared and with more clothes, accessories and SHOES than this girl... it is so funny how nervous we photographers get to be in front of the camera for a change... but are you kidding me, this momma was AMAZING!!! I really enjoyed spending my Sunday morning walking the streets of downtown Austin and shooting for her. 
I love shooting the photographers while we are out, it isn't very often we have a chance to get a few pics of ourselves, so anyone who wanted to jump and grab a few images for themselves did and they were so great!!!
Brandie. my sweet sweet hostess for the ATX workshop. This girl helped get it all put together and got us our amazing models! I am so thankful for my hostesses for all their hard work, without them it would never happen! 
here are a few BEHIND THE SCENES via cell phone pics:)
mother's day goodness.
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I was blessed to know the love of a mother. I was even more blessed to KNOW the love a mother gives by giving every ounce of my heart, soul, and body to my four children. Long ago it was alluded to that I'd have a very difficult time having children of my own. I have experienced more than a fair share of miscarriages, 3 late in the first trimester and I had to experience laboring babies that I'd never get the joy of holding, nursing, or raising. Only a mom would know the love you have for an unborn baby.
I know the feeling of hitting the floor after being told something seriously was wrong with one of your children so hard it feels as though something knocked you completely off your feet and took every breath of air you had with it.
I have known the hopeless feeling sitting in a hospital holding on to your sick child's hand praying so hard it hurts that it would be you in that bed instead of your sweet precious little one.
I know the love of being a mother. Along with experiencing the greatest love you will ever know, comes the greatest hurts you can ever imagine. Children are like the missing puzzle piece you never knew you were missing that completed the entire picture of what your life was meant to be.
I have been blessed.
Not many are so lucky, some never get to experience it. Others get it ripped from them in a way I can not begin to imagine.
We have had sleepless nights. We have long forgotten what our youthful bodies once looked like. We go without eating meals so we can run them from one place to the next. We give our time, thought, and sanity to them. Simply for that tiny "I love you mom" at the end of the day.
Sometimes it is easy to get lost in who YOU are because you define yourself by who THEY are. I have learned that for me to be the BEST mom I can be, I need to remember to embrace ME. to love ME. to give for MYSELF. Recently I have decided to start persuing the things I once loved and allow myself to give a little time to those things. To allow myself to be fulfilled by what I think is fun not by what I am expected to always do. I want to paint, do projects )that will not be graded by the 7th grade history teacher) photograph for myself, create art for ME. I want to fix my hair, wear makeup, get dressed in something other than sweat pants and feel pretty again.
This Mother's Day I want to give to YOU. I want to make you remember you are a WOMAN. You still have a voice, a passion, an identity. YOU are BEAUTIFUL.
7th grade History Project
/yes, I have been crazy busy helping my son with his 7th grade history project! This was actually way more fun than I expected (I mean minus the staying up until 2am the night before it was due part)!! The assignment was to go on a scavenger hun through our town and find historical markers with the clues we were given and then take pictures of the places we found and document what happened there. I just never realized how much I didn't take time to notice the town I live in...and have lived in almost my entire life!
My son and I went out one afternoon, just parked and took our map with clues on it and walked the streets of this tiny little town that is so full of amazing Texas history. I got to show him the church I went to as a little girl that is now just a historical marker...NO I AM NOT THAT OLD! and walk through cemeteries with names of families that are still here today. It was really a fun project....and thank goodness because I get to do it THREE more times in the next few years! ;)
the LITTLES turn
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It was Good Friday. The kids didn't have school and we needed something to do. They had been really showing an interest in my camera lately so I decided to do a crash course in camera 101 for them. They asked for me to model and let them give me a "session" ...I couldn't believe they REALLY wanted to learn! They all brought their phones so the one that didn't have the "professional" camera, the others were being iPhone-ographers. I LOVED it. I loved letting them direct me and learn how to shoot on MANUAL. I was shocked when I uploaded my memory card. The light was really bad, very dark heavy clouds and we were in the deep woods but other than that they turned out great...I just love that we created a fun memory together.
they all had to take turns showing me their work all the while someone was still snapping... kind of funny going on a shoot with 4 cameras pointing at you...INTIMIDATING! This last image was taken by my 7 year old daughter... she didn't feel like she had a fair share with the "real" camera so we shot a few in my office...these kids are gooooood. (although I might be a little partial) 
Spank.stagrams | Inked | personal post
/JEHOVAH JIREH: The Revelation of the Name Jehovah-Jireh, Genesis 22:12-14. The meaning of this name is The Lord Who Provides. The name is literally, The Lord Who Sees, or The Lord Who Will See To It. This is what we long for when we have a need that is personal and special; One who will see to our needs and provide for us. This is what Jehovah-Jireh means; the Lord Who will see to it that my every need is met. One Who knows my need because He sees.
Well. I finally did it. I joined the world of the inked. I have wanted a tattoo for almost 10 years now, but my hate for needles and lack of commitment has held me back. I knew what I wanted and why, just never knew where I should put it and then had muster up the courage to face that needle! JEHOVA JIREAH. My God the PROVIDER. I have had many trials as an adult (as we all do) I am embracing my story... it is me.
first being told I would have a very hard time (if ever) having children were words that resonated deep within me. When I miscarried my first, I was beyond devastated. It wasn't a planned or even expected pregnancy, I was only twenty-two. But for me a baby is a baby and that baby was a gift from God. He however had a different plan and took that baby home a little shy of 4 months gestation. I then got pregnant with another baby. Not willing to except the hurt of loosing another, I kept it from friends and family until it seemed like it was here to stay. At six months I went into MAJOR preterm labor and was told I needed to accept a very preterm baby with several obstacles to overcome to even have a chance of survival at life.
I fought.
I went to the doctor every other day for 3 months to get injected with steroids to grow my little baby and prepare him for delivery.
I prayed. HARD.
on complete bedrest, no visits, no intense TV shows, no nothing. I laid. for days. praying to God to give me this baby.
Every week I had to get tested to to check my levels and as I prayed, those levels continually went down. The doctor was in disbelief. each week that passed I was further and further from delivery. So much so that at 37 weeks I was taken off bed rest...but couldn't walk because my pelvic bones didn't have the gradual weight to spread with the growth of my baby... but I didn't care. I was keeping him in as long as he wanted to stay. yes, He is BAYLEN, my oldest son, FIRST miracle and gift from my PROVIDER.
Knowing the struggles we had with the first two pregnancies, starting early to give our son a sibling seemed to be the best option. Well, I was sick.
VERY SICK.
went to the doctor and what do you know, I was pregnant... with TWINS.
again. I prayed. HARD.
same song and dance with high risk pregnancy. This time I decided to go to a specialist in multiple births. He was worried. But strong. pushed me and pushed my body and after a very long VERY sick eight and a half months, I delivered full term VERY healthy twin boys. Pacen and Brylen. Our second and third miracles from my PROVIDER.
fast forward two years. We find out my son (on of the twins) has a serious bone disease. No cure known in all of history except for amputation. Yes. I was told my 2 year old son was going to have to have his leg amputated to ever have a chance of "normal" life if he were to break it...after about 3 months of knowing about his leg, he decides to jump off the bed. Yep. BROKE. long story short...after a cast, another cast, a tiny little baby walker, more cast, and a brace... my baby was pulling himself around our house by his arms. It was time to do something.
I prayed. HARD. with all I had in me.
I was a peace at what God had planned for my son and last minute before the amputation, we were asked to do an experimental surgery on my child. Lots of tears LOTS of prayers and we decided to give it a try. Today, my son is the FIRST case in HISTORY to KEEP his leg... he is now 11 years old and healthy, fast, and a miracle from MY PROVIDER! (I will post more about this story soon)
We took our entire family to get my tattoo... the kids got to watch and draw while I was getting mine done The middle images is my daughters idea of a "tattoo" for me.
so there you have it. JEHOVAH JIREH.
MY PROVIDER
It belongs on my body. where the world can see. I am ME because of HIM.
Wall Collage | WoodSnap art
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When we went to Chicago a few years ago, I decided not to carry my professional camera with me all over town but instead just take my cell phone as my only camera. This was my first time to visit Chicago and I was just in love with the architecture and feel of this amazing city.
When I got home and went through my images, I was so in love with them I wanted to print them and have them as a display in my home. I had seen a new product at the WPPI where your images could be printed directly onto wood... this seemed like the perfect way to display my cell phone images and to create an art collage in my home. So I chose 9 of my favorite and sent them to WoodSnap.com ...
They turned out AMAZING! I love love love how unique my images are on WOOD! I could not wait to get them hung....until I realized MATH might have to be involved!! YIKES! So the cool thing about my Wood Snaps are on the back they have a cut out for easy hanging (and when you are hanging NINE that comes in handy) So I flipped them over and got them all leveled and spaced out like I wanted. Then I cut a piece of brown shipping paper and laid it over them and shaded with a pencil where the "grooved cut out was" ... I know...sooo technical! ;)
I then taped the brown shipping paper to my wall, made sure it was level and then hammered my nails on the lines of the grooves from the Wood Snaps. Then took the paper down, nailed the nails back into the holes already made and hung my Snaps...did some minor adjusting and D.O.N.E.
