Well, let me tell you, Corpus Christi puts on quite the fireworks display! We were absolutely blown way (no pun intended) and thanks to my Mother-in-law and the Texas State Aquarium, we had the *best* seats in house as they shot off the fireworks from the deck of the Lexington. I totally should have recorded my kids' reaction to the show instead of taking pictures. They were hilariously thrilled by it all!
When we left to head down to Corpus, I threw my star filter in my bag...thought it might look cool with the fireworks. Whoa, did it ever!!! Lord knows I love sparkles and this just took the cake ;-).
Hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday (even if it was in the middle of the week).
From my little firecracker to yours!
I just returned from a weekend of reconnecting and recharging with several of the funniest, most talented, most intelligent women I've ever had the honor of meeting. When the idea of a Pinkle Toes workshop reunion first came up last year, I never imagined it might actually happen. I was also a bit concerned about mixing people from different workshops--*I* knew all of the ladies, but I wasn't quite sure how everyone would get along. But from the first 10 minutes of sitting in the hotel room with the group and laughing until we cried, all of my concerns flew out into the windy city.
I think I left a little bit of my heart in Chicago. I'd never been there, but I was completely blown away by how clean, fun, vibrant, and eclectic it was. I had my first Chicago style hotdog (YUM! - going to introduce the kids to this at dinner tonight ;-) and I think it's safe to say that ALL of us LOVED "the bean" (Cloud Gate).
I'd like to say I'll come back and blog more of the BAZILLION pics we collectively took during this trip, but just in case that might fall through (which it probably will), I'll go ahead and sum it up here: easily one of the most enjoyable, fun-filled weekends of my life and I feel extremely lucky to call these women friends. I would recommend (and use!) any of these photographers in a heartbeat:
- Carol with Freckle Face Photography - Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
- Shona with Shona Reid Photography - Ottawa, Canada
- Sarah with Sarah Jordan Photography - Boston, MA
- Lena with Live, Love, Laugh - Northern New Jersey and New York, NY
- Janie with Janie Jones Photography - Kansas City, MO
- Leah with Leah Cook Photography - Dallas, TX
- Minnette with Minnette Demafiles Photography - Houston, TX
- Stacy with Anastasia Marie Photography - Peoria and central IL
- Heidi with Heidi Drexler Photography - St. Louis, MO
And of course, my mom...AKA MeeMaw.
Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart!
[Oh, and to the girls that couldn't make it or to those who just came to workshops this year, we are very excited that plans are in the works for another one. It's just going to get bigger and better I know it!]
Every day when I go to wake her in the morning and tuck her in at night, I get to remember one of the most magical days in our family...the day she came into our lives. Each image in this display was selected for its own special memory:
- Wow! I can't believe how big my belly had gotten!
- My husband's hands were so strong and supportive.
- Look at the grins on my boys faces seeing their baby sister for the first time!
- I remember leaning in close to breathe her in. She was so warm!
- Her hair! I couldn't believe she had all of that hair!!!
To this day, I have watched the video footage from her birth probably twice, but in the three years since her birth, I've watched the incredibly beautiful and moving slideshow of her birth countless times. Countless. I know I am *very* lucky to have this event recorded in such a timeless, personal, tasteful manner.
If someone came up to me today and said, "I'll give you a million dollars if you destroy all of the photos from her birth," I guarantee you I would turn them down. If someone said, "Okay then, for a million dollars, I can turn back time so you could have non-blurry photos of the births of your first two children," well--you know what? I would seriously try to figure out a way to make that happen.
But why?
Because I have forgotten. The births of my children are the three single-most monumental days of my life--they changed who I am as a being--and yet I have to fight very hard to force my brain to remember them. Nature's way, I suppose, but I don't want to forget. I truly don't. I'm not stuck in the past nor am I trying to relive it...I just want to...I just want to relish it.
I can promise you that looking pretty for the camera was the last thing on my mind that day. I can promise you I wasn't wearing make up. I can promise you that when I was lost in laborland, I had no idea who was in the room with me.
Tell me if you see anything "gross" in the images above. Call me one of those "crazies." Refer to me as a "diva." Really? I think not. You know what? The birth of a child is not gross. I'm a loving mom and I run my own business--clearly I'm not crazy. And frankly, I'm no more a diva than a bride who wants pictures on her wedding day.
