Lenoir City, Tennessee

Our trip has definitely been fun so far. We made it all the way to Tennessee last night instead of having to stop somewhere for the night. Morning came all too early (especially because of the time difference) but thankfully our anticipation of hugs from much-missed family members made waking up a little easier. By 9:00 we were seated at a Cracker Barrel table-for-ten with Uncle Dave and Aunt Donna. Jesse, father of the lovely new Lily, joined us shortly afterwards. After what seemed like hours but was in reality probably only 30 minutes Uncle Mike, Aunt Wanda, Caj, and Blu assumed their positions at our table. The food was delicious and, boy, was it wonderful to catch up with family!

We spent the rest of our morning visiting different houses. The majority of my mom’s family are extremely artistic and it is always so interesting to see their latest projects whether they be houses, vehicles, or another piece of artwork. And since several of our extended family members live in Lenoir City there were tons of neat things to check out.

By noon the guys (minus Jesse who’d gone back to help with his baby) had taken off to look at cars while we girls did the grocery shopping. I’ll admit I spent more time entertaining Caj and Blu than I did picking out food. Those girls are PRECIOUS! And, yes, that deserved all caps.

After reuniting with the boys to unload groceries at the cabin we all headed to Jesse and Carrie’s house to meet Lily. What a darling baby. That little girl is sure one loved little doll.

It’s late afternoon and everyone is doing their own thing to get ready for Sabbath. Some people are cooking while others are napping. I’m going to share some nursery pictures with you in a while but for now I want to share a few of Caj and Blu. These were taken with my point and shoot. I wasn't thinking and left my 5D in the hotel closet.

Blu loved petting the puppies

Caj, on the other hand, preferred to stay in Daddy's arms





The girls kept almost falling asleep so Cousin Livy played entertainer and got the girls hyper so they'd stay awake. The result...

Randomness

Just thought I'd share my wackiness with you all. Came across these today while enduring a 14-hour car ride. Hope they add some laughter to your day! Here's to randomness...

God of Wonders

During worship this evening my family and I were commenting on how many miracles we've seen lately. Some people may consider them lucky outcomes to seemingly terrible circumstances but we believe they are nothing less than full-blown miracles. There is one in particular that I'd like to share with you.

My cousin, Matt, and his wife, Larisa, adopted two children, Hannah and Judah, from Uganda about six years ago. These kids have been so awesome that Matt and Larisa decided to add three more to their crew resulting in the adoption of three more Ugandans, this time all boys. One of these boys, Levi, had a fairly serious heart condition that they knew would need repair upon his arrival to the states. Once three year-old Levi's surgery was completed things began to go down-hill. He was put on a breathing machine as well as all kinds of other tubes and his prognoses did not look so good. They found out that, not only had the surgery been the wrong kind for his sort of problem but he also had pulminary problems. A reverse surgery was in order and a heart transplant eventually needed.

While all this was going on my other cousin Jesse, Matt's brother, and his wife were counting down the days until their first child made her entrance into the world. Of course the excitement was building but with all of little Levi's problems there was a heavy cloud of worry surrounding this anticipation.

Prayers for Levi were lifted constantly from all parts of the world. People everywhere were waiting and trusting, trusting and waiting. Carrie's due date, February 25, came and went. We all hoped for baby news every day.

Monday March 3, exactly one week over-due, Lily Jane Brass made her appearance. News had reached us several days before that Levi was doing very well after his reverse surgery. We were already praising God for these blessings when we read Larisa's blog and discovered the most incredible miracle: At the exact hour that Lily entered the world Levi was being released from the hospital. Isn't God amazing? If Lily had been born while Levi was in the hospital the excitement would have been hampered by Levi's condition. So God, in His providence, chose to bring Levi's cousin into the world at the hour of his release.

All I can say is: Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

To read more of Levi's incredible story visit Levi's Heart

Precious Little Lily(Pictures compliments of Lily's and Levi's friends and family)

Abigail: Anytime

Yesterday I had the privilege of baby sitting little Miss Abby for the first time. She is such a sweetie which made it easy for us to have a blast together. Our fun began outside, transitioned into a nap, and ended with lots of awesomely fun dress-up. Of course I couldn't resist capturing some of our fun to share with you all. Here a couple pictures from our afternoon:







Probably my favorite image of the day
Click HERE to see Abby's slideshow

Mickynzie and Brenna: Anytime

Okay, okay. I know it may seem like I'm always posting pictures of these two but I just can't help it. They love posing for my camera and my camera loves them. So if you're sick of seeing these precious faces go ahead and book a shoot with me to get some new faces on here. But for now, enjoy:

Can you tell it was dress-up day?



We had a minature "spa" day









Edited to add: I am super excited to present my brand new slideshow program. This new format allows me to send you a slideshow of your images after your initial viewing with me, letting you share your images with friends and family everywhere. Enjoy!

Click HERE to see the slideshow

Mom: Anytime

Mom is always looking for ways to help my photography improve so yesterday she let me practice shooting in manual mode on her. We got several really cute ones. Take a look:








Thanks, Mom. You're awesome, beautiful, and I love you!

An afternoon of dress-up

Torrents of giggles flooded my ears as the dress up bins made their appearance. Mickynzie, Brenna, Taylor, and Shaylee were bursting with anticipation as the lids began to come off of the boxes. Throughout the years, Mom has collected wigs, jewlery, glasses, scarves, old high-heels, and much more and stored them in bins for such a time as this. Nearly every time the girls are over they put out a request to get out Ms. Karen's "crazy things," their name for the contents of the dress up bins. It had been quite some time since we had taken the plunge and unloaded all the crazy stuff but this was their lucky day. Before long, all the girls were decked out from head to toe. And then it was time for the parade. With Ms. Karen leading the way (yes, my MOTHER) the girls paraded through the living room to give their father's a fashion show. Of course this elicited more laughter followed by the pounding of little feet headed to put on the next costume.

The girls had a blast and we all got many laughs out of the experience. Here is a taste of our fun:

Probably my favorite shot of the day: Check out those sweet glasses (don't ask me how she walked with them on)

The girls with the leader of the pack a.k.a. my Mom

Taylor thought the old pipe was something else

The sunglasses Mickynzie is sporting were actually worn by my mother in the 90's



Brenna's new do

A final photo (notice the upside down glasses again)