Guess who got glasses!! (and then wanted a photo shoot)

When the kids are away the parents will play!!

Brian and I had the opportunity to get away for a few days, without children. Part of our time was spent at Historic Shakertown. What happens when you are at a historic town during off season (so nobody was there)- well it makes us goofy! Needless to say it was one of the most entertaining trips to Shakertown I have ever experienced. It all started when Brian saw the fire extinguisher in the kitchen....

Spring is coming....

so we are taking advantage of the warm weather while we can. Claire has her official big girl bike, though she can't figure out how to peddle yet. In other news- Claire has now started the homeschool gymnastics class. She LOVES it! Actually, I think what she loves the most is wearing her leotard.

A Baby Has Been Born......kind of.......

Well friends and family, I am expanding my horizons. I have officially started a photography blog. It is the first step in moving towards a business. This is a way for me to be able to post pictures and send potential clients to a website to view my work. It is also a way for you to stay up to date with my photography happenings, thus leaving this blog for family stuff. I already have a few first "official" clients that I am doing some newborn sessions for. I would love any kind of feedback, and please note the site is not entirely done yet. I have many more pictures to upload that I have not had the time to do. So without further ado, introducing Oh Cara! Photography.

Time for babies (not me of course!)....

I have had the opportunity to do 2 newborn sessions for some women in our church (and a few more due soon!). It has been great practice for me and I appreciate the opportunity they have given me to practice on their precious bundles. Here are a few of my favorites.



I also did some pictures of this baby before he was born!!

Perfect Day to Make Cookies.....

....and who better to make them with than Isabelle? (yes my other 3 children are currently pleading their cases on why they would be better!) A side note: the cookies didn't last long enough for me to get pictures of them after they had been cooked!!

No excuses, just behind in blogging!

So what have been up too? Well, NOT throwing up for one thing!! Our month has consisted of school, playing in the snow and gymnastics. Samuel has been avoiding the camera (apparently he is at an age where getting your picture taken is NOT a very boy like thing to do!), however in his spare time he has been shoveling our driveway. Though our snow pictures are not nearly as impressive as the D.C. side of the family, we have had enough snow to keep Samuel busy.

Happy 3rd Birthday Claire!!

We are very thanful for little Claire in our life. She definitely is unique among our children. She is much more introverted than everyone else and is often content to be in the corner by herself (or on my hip). However, her quietness is not a reflection of her will which happens to be very strong! Just try feeding her something she doesn't want- she would rather starve! She does go along with what the rest of the family is doing. She is very talkative just not if there are many people around. We love our little Claire Bear and are thankful she is healthy and happy! Happy Birthday Claire- and yes, more pictures will be coming!


3rd Birthday

2nd Birthday

1st Birthday

Birth (obviously!)

Things I have learned this week.........

So for those of you who are not on facebook and do not know ALL the happenings of the past two weeks, here is a brief summary:

Two weeks ago we decided to take a "surprise" trip to North Carolina for an engagement party for CJ Bowen. We stayed with our friends the Ferguson's. We left on a Sunday after church, went to the party on Monday evening and came home on Tuesday. While there, early Tuesday morning Abby decided to throw up (well not really her decision). Came home and all seemed well until Claire decided to throw up two days later. We washed lots of hands, clothes, bathrooms, door knobs and had hoped we had avoided it. In the mean time we were getting ready to leave yet again for vacation to Tennesse and also for Brian to perform a wedding while we down there. All seemed fine until Sunday night Isabelle started throwing up and then ran a fever all day Monday thus delaying our vacation. We sucessfully made it to Tennesse on Tuesday and had a good day on Wed of swimming and then again Thursday morning. And then Samuel started throwing up. I also felt bad in the process though my problems were down south! A few hours later Abby started throwing up also. Friday morning we awoke with both of them running fevers and Brian having the same issues I was and he stayed in bed most of the day. Fortunately he was able to make it to the wedding Saturday- of which Isabelle was the flower girl. So what have I learned? The following:

#1- Isabelle is the best vomitter in the house. She got to the bathroom in time and stayed low to the toilet! Samuel also did well, though he is a hollar puker- meaning it makes you nauseated just listening to him! Isabelle did stomp and kick the whole time but kept her face where it needed to be!

#2- Abby is the worst puker of the bunch. She panics and is so grossed out by the whole process that she stands and tries to shoot it into the toilet thus leaving me an ENTIRE bathroom to clean! At one point this week I watched Brian take her down just to spare me the process of cleaning everything yet AGAIN!

#3- Moms rarely get time to be sick. There is ALWAYS someone to take care of and who else is there to do it?

#4- God's plans are not our own! This is now the second vacation that has been postponed due to illness- you would think we would stop taking trips by now!

#5- I'm thankful to have a doctor in the family. We were able to take some phenergan on the road with us which meant we were able to medicate our children while away from home. It also meant several calls to my father-in-law which he patiently answered for us!

#6- ALWAYS travel with Clorox wipes, paper towels, and plastic grocery bags!

#7- there are several strains of stomach viruses- we have now had 2 of them!

#8- I have NEVER been so glad to be home as I am at this very moment- being sick is bad, but is even worse when you are away from home. That poor condo will NEVER be the same!

Somehow this week Claire has avoided getting the second round of everything, thanks be to God!

Photography happenings

I have had the priviledge of being able to grow in my hobby of photography over the past month. I have had the opportunity to do my first senior portraits, my first family (outside of my own!), and my first wedding. I have been very thankful for these friends and family to take a risk and allow me to capture their important moments. It has been a lot of fun and done nothing but encouarge my new love. I am also looking forward to my first materninty session coming in a couple weeks. (and no, it is not a self-portrait!!) I look forward to being able to serve our friends and our church, especially with my great new camera!