Miscellaneous Ramblings

*Christmas is over but my decorations are still up. I hate taking them down. It makes me sad. And it means Christmas is REALLY over. Can you tell how much I like Christmas?

*Yesterday we met my parents in Illinois for lunch. They took our three older kids up to Wisconsin with them for about a week. We kept Savannah since she is nursing. Today Savannah and I slept in until 10:45am. It was glorious. But then I had to take her to get a blood test done. And that was not glorious.

*Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I've put off some of today's errands including going to the bank and the library for tomorrow. But now that I'm thinking about it....both of those places probably have limited hours due to the holiday. Good planning.

*I should be cleaning my house. It hasn't really been cleaned at all this week, and it hasn't been thoroughly cleaned in at least a month. I had great plans for the two days I have only one child in the house, but as it turns out I completely wasted the first day. Oh well. Rest is good too.

*I am TOTALLY excited to fly out to Portland this weekend. I mean V-E-R-Y excited. I know some people don't care much for flying but I absolutely love it! I've never had the opportunity to fly with my husband (or any of our kids) before, so this will be a fun new experience. I'm also shooting my best friend's wedding (even though I don't really shoot weddings any more) and I'm expecting that to be a fun change of pace. Then we're just going to hang out in Portland for a few days, visit with my cousin, swim in the hotel pool, and EAT. Mmmm, we do love to eat.

Sometimes when I'm driving I snap pictures out the (very dirty) windows. Yesterday this exact scenario played itself out several times. Since I can't really watch the camera and see what I'm shooting, I always just hope for a good one. Here's my favorite from our trip:

Indianapolis Family Photographer

Wow! Has it really been four days since this session? Michael and Katherine, I had a great time with you guys on Tuesday. Thanks for being patient with me during Christmas week! Here's a quick preview:

Have fun on your cruise!!!!

Merry Christmas!

"...For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth..."
(John 18.37)

Running

I did it. I signed up for the Mini Marathon here in Indy. And I did it just in time because the race reached capacity just two days after I signed up. So it's set. Now that I've paid $79, I better run it. I had actually planned to run the Mini last year but never got around to registering in time. Which turned out really well because by the time May rolled around, I was almost 5 months pregnant.

I figured that since I just gave birth 2 months ago, this would give me some good incentive to get back into shape after my fourth baby in five years.

Heh heh. I love saying that. It freaks people out.

So I started "training" (although I'm not really sure what I'm doing) a few weeks ago. I ran/walked 6 miles the first week and wound up with shin splints. Flashback to high school basketball days. OUCH. I did a bit of research online - because you know, we all know how reliable the internet is - and decided that it might be a good idea to strengthen my legs before attempting to run again. So I took a few days off and then went back to the gym. I started working on the leg machines and walking? running? moving? on the elliptical machine. Next week I'm going to attempt going back to running on the treadmill. I'm hoping my legs have become strong enough that the pain of shin splints will be no more. Or at least minimal.

I bought my first mp3 player this weekend and I TOTALLY. LOVE. IT. It keeps me so much more focused on what I'm doing and provides me much better entertainment than the (lame) music they play at the gym. So thank you, birthday money-givers for that sweet gift!

I'm really looking forward to the experience of running alongside 35,000 other people. As frightening as that sounds. Hopefully I won't get run over. :)

Winner!!!

I am very pleased to announce that Andy and Cari are the winners of yesterday's birthday giveaway! Yes, I do know them in person, but I promise it's just coincidence!

Cari, please contact me so we can discuss details of your apron and hat. :)

Thanks to Random.com for generating this....well....random number!

It's A Birthday Present! For you!

At 12.14pm CST today, I turned 25 years old. Yep, I've now lived a quarter of a century! And no matter how young you thing 25 is, surely that quarter-of-a-century part made me sound a little bit older, right?

In honor of my birthday - and because I really like presents, both received and given - I'm giving away a matching apron and chef hat to one of my blog readers! (That's you!)

You have exactly 8 hours to enter this drawing. A winner will be chosen at random and contacted with details of pattern/gender/etc. To be entered for this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Christmas memory is! Be sure to leave your email address if you don't have a blog or are posting anonymously. Get an extra entry if you blog about this post and link to my site. After blogging, just come back here and let me know, leaving a link to your post about this giveaway.

Entries must be received by MIDNIGHT TONIGHT EST, Thursday, December 17th.

I Stand Corrected

Last week I posted a (bizarre) video of what I called The Best Christmas Song Ever. Well, I stand corrected. Shortly after I first heard that song, I heard this song for the first time. As good as that other song was, this one is better. Better in a different way, but really altogether better.

It's totally beautiful and I could never in my life have so eloquently put these thoughts to music. Oh, and Cari, this one includes Jesus. :)

Here's Relient K singing "I Celebrate the Day" from their album Let It Snow, Baby, Let It Reindeer. (Lyrics below)

I Celebrate The Day

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

Email Troubles

I have had a few clients tell me this week that they sent me an email which I did not receive. I have contacted customer support and am waiting to see if they know what the issue is. In the meantime, if you have tried to contact me in the past few weeks and have NOT received a reply, please email me again! If you still do not get a response, try emailing me at indyphotography (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.

Thanks!

Christmas Schedule

After getting some of our Christmas decorations out last week, I am feeling relieved that the holiday did not pass me by prior to my decorating. I did not put up as much as I usually do, but it's PLENTY for this momma of four! The kids enjoyed helping with the ornaments and love all the candles we have sitting around. Every day I hear some variation of the question: "Is it Christmas soon?" They are so excited.

I have been busy sewing, sewing, sewing. I'm making capes with eye masks for my niece and nephews and aprons with chef hats for my three oldest kids. I'm also making some extra aprons for some other people, so sewing has been taking up a lot of my time lately. Business has slowed down recently which has given me more time to make all these gifts. And it's been fun learning how to make new things! Check out this super cute apron and chef hat I made for a birthday party last week:

With the exception of newborns, I will not be taking any sessions between December 21st-January 5th as we will be traveling a bit and spending time with our families for the holidays. If you or someone you know is due any day now and planning to do pictures with me, please contact me as soon as possible. Newborns are best photographed at 7-10 days old, so it is crucial for me to pencil you in early, especially during the holiday season.

Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season!

Updates

Help-Portrait Winner

Thank you all for your nominations! Since it was such a tough decision, I recruited my mom to help decide who would win the portrait package giveaway. Oddly enough, she chose the same person I had been learning toward. So that was that.

I am happy to announce that Peggy Butler is the winner of one totally free session as well as a ton of complimentary prints!

Since the purpose of Help-Portrait is not to further one's portfolio but to provide hope and encouragement by giving something beautiful to someone else, you, dear Internet, will not be seeing pictures of this session. It will be a personal family package. And I can't wait to give it!

Servant's Heart Fundraiser

A huge THANK YOU to the families who participated in November's fundraising event for Servant's Heart of Indy! Because of you, I will be donating $206 to Servant's Heart!

Christmas

We finally got our Christmas tree and a few of our decorations up! Yes, I realize it's pretty late in the month for that, but....better late than never, right?

Best. Christmas. Song. Ever.

I'm all for Christmas carols. I mean, I really love carols. But I just heard this song on the radio this afternoon in the van and had to find out who sang it as soon as I got home. I absolutely LOVE this song. You must listen. I mean it. Don't close this page until you hear it.

The song is called "His Favorite Christmas Story" and it's sung by Capital Lights.

And....I'm not exactly sure what's up with the intermittent anime, but....whatever. The song is still amazing.

Hold On, Internet

The winner of the Help Portrait photo session giveaway has been chosen! An email has been sent to the nominator and I am awaiting response regarding what information I should post here on the blog. But rest assured, I haven't forgotten to alert you. :)

And seriously, I promise this is the last picture you will see of my most recent set of hats from UndertheOakTreesKids! For now.

And Then The Power Went Out

It was cold today. Like, really cold. It started out cold and windy and it got colder and windier all day. And then, right after my husband got home, the power went out. Perfect.

It reminded me of a day last year when the power went out and it was extremely cold outside. The three kids and I all piled into one bedroom (okay, our bedrooms are not that small that we had to pile), snacked on crackers, and tried to keep ourselves warm with the heat of 6 small candles. It didn't work. And if I remember correctly, right about the time I decided to call it quits, the power came back on. Isn't that usually how it works?

Anyway, that doesn't really have anything to do with today. So our power went out. Thankfully we were already planning to get a fire started this evening, so we set right to work on that. My husband has gotten pretty good at making fires (he used to be terrible, seriously - like, the entire house would fill with smoke and then he would finally give up - but don't tell him I said that), but today for some reason it just was not happening. Actually, it was probably my fault today. I stacked the wood and most likely did something wrong. The fire would take and then die down. And then back up again. And then back down. Really fun. Especially when its our only source of heat.

I had a few candles burning downstairs. When the kids weren't complaining about how scary it was in the dark, they were running around like maniacs. Must have been pretty scary. I finally decided I was going to go upstairs and retrieve some more candles. As I got to the top of the stairs I heard the power switch back on.

I actually considered (momentarily) turning all the lights off and just using candles, but since my husband was pretty exhausted - and also since the kids' room was a disaster and need some serious light-filled cleaning - I decided I should probably let things be.

Our evening was a little more hectic than planned, but it all worked out. I love my family. :)

The Last Day

Today is the last day to nominate someone for the photo package giveaway in connection with Help-Portrait! Entries must be received by midnight EST tonight, Wednesday, December 9th.

Remember, the person you nominate doesn't have to be living on the streets, without a job, or have survived a crisis (although all of those things are definitely great reasons to nominate someone). They simply need to be in need of something - be that hope, friendship, love, or encouragement.

Submit your nominations by clicking here. If you need a refresher or if you missed my original post on this topic, you can read full details here.

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And what's that? You LOVE seeing pictures of my dear Savannah and you'd like to see another one? Why of course, dear Internet. Anything to appease you....

She Woke Up Cooing | Indianapolis Baby Photographer

(Adorable hat from UnderTheOakTreesKids)

Reminder | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

A reminder to pregnant moms:

Please contact me at least 2-4 weeks prior to your due date so I can tentatively put you down on my calendar. I will be out of town from December 31-January 4 and from March 25-31, so if you are currently pregnant and planning for your child's newborn pictures, I'd like to put you on the schedule as soon as possible. Newborn pictures are best taken within the first 10 days of life. After only a few short days, babies lose their squishiness and excessive sleepiness and are much more difficult to pose.

Thanks!

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On a somewhat separate note, I received this great hat in the mail this weekend from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, and.....I can't. Stand. The cuteness.

Furry and Festive

It was the second annual no-parameters tie contest. That's what I call it anyway. My husband's work Christmas party has had a tie contest two years in a row. And that's all the details they give. It's just....a tie contest. Last year my brother-in-law won with a bow tie which he had tied himself. Impressive, sure. But come on...you can learn anything on YouTube. I'm just sayin'.

This year I was determined to at least put my husband in the runnings. But there was one problem. I had nothing to wear. And obviously, finding something for me to wear is more important than an accessory for my husband. I spent a few hours on Saturday rummaging through the clearance section at Target (I know, cheapness is a weakness) and found a handful of shirts that I deemed acceptable. Until of course, I tried them on. Back on the rack they went! And it was then that I realized I could probably find a shirt to wear at home, but honestly, the only pair of pants that fits me right now (eh hem, I just had a baby, remember?) is a pair of jeans. And well, jeans were out. I scurried through thoughts of fabrics I had at home and tried to decide if I had the time and talent to make myself a quick skirt.

I opted for 'yes'.

So the afternoon was spent sitting in front of the sewing machine and pretending I have far more knowledge of sewing than I actually do. Somehow I made it work and I finished my skirt with an hour to spare!

Thus began the tie-making.

Actually, the tie was quite easy. I thought of it while I was rushing through Target and just knew it would be perfect! I grabbed a piece of furry fabric that I use for my newborn shoots, borrowed one of my husband's ties, and traced the shape with the scissors. As soon as it was cut, I knew it was a masterpiece.

Am I sounding conceited? Sorry. It's just that I'm just a little excited about the whole thing. After all, I totally would have applauded anyone else who came up with this idea too!

I brought the tie to my husband who was just finishing up shaving his face. He laughed as he announced the verdict: "Awesome."

Being the 24-year old that I am, I have a little bit of college-age style in me. I don't always let this style come out since I feel like, as a mother of four, I'm for some reason not allowed. But I threw caution to the wind and paired my red tights with my green and black outfit. We left for the party seriously in style. Well....at least, in my style.

We had a great time and my husband did win the tie contest. We can't wait to try out this game!

Shortly following the announcement of the tie contest, the door prizes began. Somehow we had wound up with 9 tickets instead of the 2 everyone else got. We didn't steal them, I promise. I never win anything, so I was thrilled when my number was drawn. I walked up to claim my prize, a large flat object. I hardly had time to begin opening it when another one of our numbers was drawn. Since we were each only allowed to win once, I quickly passed the ticket to another woman at the table. She handed it to her husband and as he got up to claim "his" prize, I jokingly stated, "You know, I'm going to take the better of these two prizes, now don't you?"

When he sat down, we both opened our gifts. Mine was a $100 gift certificate to Fogo de Chao, a very nice, very expensive Brazilian steakhouse downtown. Theirs was a Canon point and shoot camera. As it turned out, they had been wanting to try out Fogo de Chao and I had just mentioned to Daniel that I really needed to get a new point and shoot camera. Perfect! We swapped and I came home with this little beauty:

All in all, we felt pretty blessed. And we really had a great time. I mean, yes, after being dragged onto the floor, I did endure a short awkward dance with an extremely drunk Australian whose wine breath I could literally taste while he expressed to me the fact that my husband was very sexy. (Not that I could argue.) But all things considered, it was a great evening!

P.S. Don't worry about the dancing. :)

LET it Out Designs

I am just about bursting at the seams. My friend Elizabeth recently started a business with two of her friends. When I initially heard about it, I was like....oh, another jewelry business......well, that's nice. (Obviously I'm not that into jewelry.) But when their Etsy store officially opened and I saw their jewelry, I think my jaw may have actually dropped open.

I'm totally not kidding when I say this: Their stuff is FABULOUS. Personal. Beautiful. Gorgeous. And seriously, I'm not even into jewelry. Like, at all. But let me just tell you, dear Internet, that I will certainly not object to any of you buying me any piece of jewelry from this shop. Every piece is fantastic.

Okay, so enough talk. You want to see the goods, right? Of course you do. I can't take credit for any of these photos, but whoever took them has a career in product photography, don't you think? (Wait, maybe they're already into product photography....) Well anyway, check out some of their amazing stuff:

Fabulous, is it not? So if you have any females left on your Christmas list, here is my hint: Visit the LET it Out Designs shop on Etsy for some very beautiful, very personalized jewelry!

Santa Baby | Indianapolis Baby Photographer

I have a thing for hats. Baby hats, that is. Not so much hats for me. Actually, I like hats but I'm not entirely sure how to wear them with...well...with hair. And hair I definitely have. I'm sure that sounds completely ludicrous but I honestly never know what to do with my hair when I have a hat on. Wear it down? Side ponytail? (Hey, I was born in the 80s - it's allowed.) I honestly think hats frame my face very well (or maybe it's that they hide my face?), but the whole situation makes me frantic so I try to stay away from it for the most part.

Well, being the hat-lover that I am, I ordered a new hat from Etsy seller DebisCreations18. When it arrived today, I simply had to put it on my Savannah while she still fits into newborn hats. :) She's my little Santa baby.

I even got a sleepy smile out of her!

My goodness, she is a chub! I say that, but I know that in reality she is not a large baby at all. She has her 2-month appointment tomorrow, so we'll see how big she's gotten then!

Sleep tight, little Santa baby!

Corbin | Indianapolis Baby Photographer

Oh my goodness, this little man was SO cute and full of smiles! I had such a great time with him! Halfway through the session I asked his mom how she had found me. A great long story ensued and we weeded our way through an assortment of blogs we both read (and a lot of tangents). We discussed how our husbands think we are weird for talking about bloggers like they are our best friends and how it's bizarre that we get sucked into blogs specifically about babies with health problems. And little Corbin was so patient with us. :)

Kristy got this great hat from someone on Etsy, but I forgot to ask who!









I love all the little man outfits!



And finally, the tickle laugh....

Kristy, I had a great time with both of you. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek until I have time to get your gallery up!

25 Days Of Service

Weeks ago, someone mentioned it in passing and I couldn't get the thought out of my head. She said she and her kids were doing 25 days of service during the month of December. That sounded way better to me than the dinky little calendar I used to get growing up with the stale chocolate inside. (No offense, Mom. I appreciate the gesture.) I decided then and there that our family would also participate in this "25 days of service" thing, even though I wasn't quite sure at the time what exactly that would mean.

We stress our children's character over any other "accomplishment" in our home, so I thought this would be a perfect addition (and possibly tradition) to our family. I made a list of ideas for service projects we could do together and left room for improvement and changes.

Today marks the 1st day of December and therefore our 1st service project. When this afternoon rolled around, I explained the concept to the kids. They seemed to get it. We made a calendar and stuck it on our fridge so we can keep track of our services to others. We talked about how Christmas is about giving to others, just like Christ gave us the gift of eternal life when he came to earth. We brainstormed ideas of things we could do that would be a service to others. We discussed all sorts of things. It was pretty fun.

Then I told the kids that today's service project would be helping decorate for Christmas at church tonight. They seemed excited about that (since the sentence included Christmas, I'm sure) and they talked about it the rest of the afternoon. When 4 o'clock rolled around, my husband called and said he would be working late and would just meet us at the church. I decided it was acceptable to perform two special acts of service today, so the kids and I took out the trash for my husband. The kids like to do this anyway, so why not make it a weekly chore? I'm sure my husband would go for that!

When we arrived at the church, there was LOTS to do. I know my kids didn't really help much, but the point is that we were serving as a family. They saw us doing our service joyfully and hopefully that will encourage them to enjoy doing services for others.

I wanted to take pictures of our service projects for you, but I forgot to take my camera to church and...well, I just didn't think you'd appreciate a picture of our trash sitting out by the curb. So instead of either of those things, you get to see a picture of my now 2-month old little Savannah. Don't they grow up so fast?!

(I apologize for the flashy look. I took this using only my external flash late in the evening and I took it ONLY because my mom said she need a recent picture of Savannah. As if 6 weeks ago wasn't recent enough!) :)