Apr 28

Beautiful Miss Elliott {Newborn Photographer, Winona MN}

I met Miss Elliott’s mom & dad for a maternity session in March, and I was so impressed by their connection. The session was so easy, they fit together just perfectly and the love, joy, and anticipation in their eyes was undeniable. They couldn’t wait to meet their little one, and they got their wish 1 month later via induction.

Miss Elliott is perfect, 10 little fingers, 10 little toes and healthy!  She made us work for these sleepy shots, but she is a girl who knows what she likes… White Noise, Heat, and Snuggles. Once she was asleep not even her furry siblings could wake her up.

Here is a TEASE, of this beautiful little Miss.

Permanent link to this article: http://connaugh24748.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/beautiful-miss-elliott-newborn-photographer-winona-mn/

Apr 20

My own personal A-Team, my triple threat.

When you’re a parent to a child with special needs, it’s easy to talk about that child. A LOT. You become passionate about their diagnosis, you want to learn everything you can about it, all your options, every possible resource available for your child, you want to shout every milestone from the rooftops, good or bad.. It’s important to talk about your other children too. Did you know I have 3 children, and only God knows if that’s our magic number (It’s way to hard for me to commit to no more babies. ever. , so I just let go & let God with this). I know I tend to talk about Ava A LOT on here, so this post I want to introduce my other two children to you.

My oldest Ayden “Bacon” is 6yrs old, and he’s amazing. He’s my first born and my only son. He’s funny, smart, sensitive, kind, talented, & determined. He dreams of growing up to be a chef. To be specific, a Firefighter who’s also a chef. “So he can cook for all the Firefighters at the Fire house cause they’ll be hungry after saving everyone”. Smart kid. We’ve all heard the way to the heart is through the stomach. All the girls at school LOVE him (and they tell him everyday when I pick him up, with hugs and even some kisses snuck in there too!)…  and his little sisters ADORE him. The best part of my girls weekdays is 3:10pm. This is when Ayden comes home, hearing the “HI I-Dee” from Ava and the squeals of delight & “Hiiiiiiii” from Addie bring a ear to ear smile to his face. No matter what kind of day he’s had, that moment is constant.

My youngest Adeline “Addie” (Sweet Adeline, Doot Doot Doot), is 17 months and is one of those babies that makes you want to have 8 more babies. She’s always happy unless she’s tired or hungry, she’s a social butterfly, and so so smart. She is my little model. She LOVES music, all animals (especially our 2 dogs), Dora the Explorer, and her big brother & big sister. She shares a room with Ava, and many nights when I go into check on them before I head to bed, Addie can be found in her big sisters bed snuggled perfectly into her sisters back (like they’re spooning). It’s pretty amazing that Ava lets Addie do this, since Ava is VERY sensitive about EVEN pressure, especially when sleeping (she sleeps with weighted blankets & a special lycra sheet).

Now don’t get me wrong, they’re siblings. They fight, yell, scream, kick, and even lick (Ava). Lately Addie has taken to copying everything the older two do. Today she decided to copy Ayden, and proceeded to LAY on Ava’s head, and “wrestle”. Surprisingly Ava didn’t  seem to mind, in fact she giggled.

Since Ava’s Autism diagnosis it’s been a whirlwind around here. We’ve implemented so many new therapy’s and routines at home, school & Stanley Jones. Now 6 months after the diagnosis we’re still making changes, but things are finally becoming somewhat a routine. I look back at the past 6 months, and 1 thing was constant. 1 thing got me through.

My triple threat. Ayden, Ava and Addie. My A-Team. They are my perfect balance, they are the perfect balance for each other. The ups & down, the good & bad. They get me through it. Seeing them together, their excitement to just be around each other. It’s humbling, and it’s heartwarming. And I get to be their mom.

I’ll say that again. I GET TO BE THEIR MOM.

Designed by yours truly, this is the closest I could come to describing in words what my kids are to me. :)
This is available for purchase through my Etsy shop. Just click on the image to view the listing. All proceeds from my designs are put into a special fund to purchase outdoor items for Ava.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://connaugh24748.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/my-own-personal-a-team-my-triple-threat/

Apr 20

My little Ninja. {Ava Jeane, little pieces}

This story is a oldie, but a goodie so I had to bring it over to the blog. It will make you SMILE.

This story took place one evening about a year ago…. After putting our middle child Ava back into bed for the 3rd time, my husband Ron and I were chit chatting about our days, when we heard what sounds like SOMEONE in our house. Specifically in my photography studio, which is on the back of our home, and connects to our kitchen….

Being a woman who believes the husband is the man of the house (I will not repeat that, and will deny it if asked lol!), I of course shove (literally shoved- apparently, he didn’t get the earlier memo) Ron out of bed to check it out, which he reluctantly does, and he also turns on the bedroom light (which I might add is not a good idea to do in the case of a intruder, since you’re letting them SEE YOU when you CAN’T SEE THEM! ).

I could tell Ron’s heart was beating just as fast as mine was as he searched our bedroom for something to protect him (why don’t we have a baseball bat in our bedroom like they always do in the movies?! I mean even Ron’s golf clubs aren’t in the house!). He snuck out of our room empty handed into the dark house…  The sounds were coming from the kitchen now, it was the sound of a door creaking (which is scary considering our back door is in the studio, which connects to the kitchen, and I couldn’t remember if I locked it after letting the dog in..).. I finally released the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding when I heard Ron say,

“Ava! What are you doing?! GET DOWN.”

That’s right NINJA.

Our Ava (who was 3 yr old at the time), is NOT afraid of the dark and moves with a stealthness only seen by trained Ninjas- was on the top of the counter, she’d gotten up there to grab the Popcorn Seasoning Salt (from I might add it’s new location on the top shelf, because she’d already snuck it 4 times earlier that day from other precarious heights & locations!). There was NO chair in sight, and not a sound was heard when she; got out of bed, opened the door to her room, came up the stairs, climbed the cabinet, then the counter, and opened the cupoard door. ALL IN THE DARK.

Ninja.

Needless to say, she was hungry. So I gave her a peanut butter sandwich (*sigh, those were the days! She won’t touch a peanut butter sandwich now) and a glass of milk. Then I tucked her back to bed for the 4th time that night and didn’t hear from her again until morning.

I’m only assuming she stayed in her bed, because unlike what my mother told me, Mom’s don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads, can’t see through walls, and don’t know everything. 

Permanent link to this article: http://connaugh24748.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/my-little-ninja-ava-jeane-little-pieces/

Apr 13

A few of the little pieces that are my beautiful butterfly, Ava. {April Autism Awareness Month}

I have often looked at this image, and thought, this is the closest thing I can find to show how I believe my Autistic 4yr old daughter sees the world. With her being the RIGHT brain. 

She sees & feels (literally & non literally) things so differently, and it’s not a curse or a disability… it’s an amazing gift. She’s going to do something amazing in her lifetime, something others could never imagine accomplishing, I just know it. I don’t know what it’s going to be, but she surprises me so often by what she does know, and what she can do.

When raising a child with special needs, so often our attention is on what they can’t do (when compared with their peers), and helping them learn to do these things, or to adapt a new way to do these things. So many times abilities are measured by societies standards instead of measured by the actual needs of the child.

As I was sitting at the school yesterday for a IEP meeting, I noticed a quote on the wall, and while I can’t remember it word for word,  the point of the quote was this. Equity is not Equally. Children aren’t all the same, and being a good educator (which is what parents are as well) means providing what each individual child needs to learn.

Autism, when you hear that word what do you envision? For some it’s a child who’s a quiet wallflower who can’t speak, or it’s a child who’s loud and throws fits, and for others it’s an adult who’s never quite fit in, misunderstood, has been taken advantage of, a social outcast, and for others it’s YOUR CHILD. The word Autism covers the entire spectrum, and frankly that spectrum is HUGE and can mean so many different things. In fact that’s one of the hardest things about treating Autism, A treatment method or an educational method that will work for one child may not work for another child. The one common denominator for all of the young children is that early intervention does work, and it seems to improve the prognosis.” – Temple Grandin

My Ava is Autistic, PDD-NOS to be exact and has Speech Dyspraxia.

Ava was diagnosed in Nov. 2011 right after she turned 4, but I “knew” since she was about 2 1/2 yrs old. My bright, easy going, always happy, smart little girl started to pull away from me. She didn’t want snuggles, or to read books with me, she refused to eat all but a few (less than 10) select foods, she asked for a Pacifier (she had not used one much as a baby, and hadn’t used one at all since she was 18 months), she would throw fits and become very upset when we were out in public, she didn’t retain things we told her, and she had absolutely no understanding of danger, and we couldn’t get the concept of danger across to her in a way she could understand. She stopped learning to communicate, and her vocabulary was approx 25 words, and no simple or complex sentences. She didn’t sing songs or mimic, she didn’t like “new” people and had a strong reaction to anyone that wasn’t Mommy, Daddy or Ayden.

Why did it take so long for a diagnosis?
I was told by her pediatrician and everyone around me at the time that; she would catch up,   every child learns at their own pace,    it’s all in your head.   I will never forget sitting in my car bawling after Ava’s 2yr check up when I was told that I was “doing this for attention, there’s nothing wrong with Ava.  She’s just a little behind.”   NEEDLESS To say I never went back to that Pediatrician and she no longer is employed at that hospital. What a breath of fresh air Ava’s 3yr check up was! We met a new Pediatrician (who we ADORE!), and in that first check up, not only did she agree Ava was delayed, but she put a referral into the school district for ECFE, and Ava started preschool the following month. She also started the evaluation process to figure out what Ava’s need were and how we could get her help. We started with a ENT Full evaluation, because Ava has had some bleeding from one of her ears in the past, and well… Ava is LOUD. lol!
The ENT eval came back normal, she’s just got some “stuff” in her ear so we use Hydrogen Peroxide to help. The next step was to go over the school’s tests & findings. Those tests raised all kinds of questions.

Ava showed signs of; OCD, Anxiety, Autism, Speech Delay, Physical Delays (Fine Motor, Oral, & Large Motor),  and Communication Delays (Verbal & Non Verbal). We decided to pursue a evaluation from Gunderson Lutheran, specifically a diagnosis from their ARENA assessment because Ava’s “symptoms” at this time were major communication delays.

After 2 long days of testing, we received the results.  I actually giggled when we received the diagnosis, yep giggled right out loud. Part of it was due to relief that the tests were over, my concerns were noted by others, I was tired after “handling” Ava for the past two days of testing (new places & routines = a bad Ava day), and the main reason for the giggles.. “PDD-NOS is what we feel Ava’s diagnosis is because Ava is a complicated puzzle”.  Really? Tell me something I don’t already know! I’ve been calling Ava those exact words for 2 years, my little complicated puzzle (who LOVES to do puzzles).

Any Autistic diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but PDD-NOS can feel especially overwhelming.  Because there is no, this is what your child has, this is how to treat it. In fact the definition of PDD-NOS is to tell it is not.

“This category should be used when there is severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction associated with impairment in either verbal or nonverbal communication skills or with the presence of stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities, but the criteria are not met for a specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, or Avoidant Personality Disorder. For example, this category includes “atypical autism” – presentations that do not meet the criteria for Autistic Disorder because of late age at onset, atypical symptomatology, or subthreshold symptomatology, or all of these.” 1

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., rev.). Washington DC: Author. (Pg. 84)

Frustrating huh? One thing that everyone agrees on, no matter where a child fits into the Autism Spectrum is that early intervention is extremely beneficial to the child. If you are interested in more information regarding how Autism is diagnosed, and signs to look for visit the Autism Speaks website, and check out the M-CHAT a (The Modified Checklist of Autism in Toddlers).

I think one of the hardest things for me about Ava living with Autism is how society sees her, and judges her before getting to know or understand her. Autism like many other things that affect us can’t be seen. We need to teach our children acceptance & understanding so society as a whole can change their point of view.

It would be so much easier if we all wore little name tags that told others around us how to react wouldn’t it? Like facebook statuses but on a ticker across our chest that updated every 30 seconds.. Mine would read, “Don’t wake Momma Bear”. Simple & to the point, don’t you think? :)

Seriously, though please STOP JUDGING, STOP BULLYING, STOP HATING. START LOVING.

I came across something on Pinterest (LOVE IT!) and it’s been sticking with me ever since…

Think about it. It’s so simple isn’t it?

So now that I am off my soap box, I will leave you with some pieces of Ava.
This first piece is one of the reasons for the soap box.   Ava’s “EW” (pacifier). If you would of warned me of the looks, stares, whispers, gossip, the things I’ve heard through the grapevine about how society see’s Ava’s EW, and in turn me as a mother because of her using a EW at 4 1/2. I would never of believed you.

Ava is has Oral Sensory Needs, and since the age of 3 has used a EW. She will suck on it to soothe herself, or she will bite it (always on her left side) when she is stressed. She does not take it to school, instead there she uses a Chew Tube, or Chewelry (chew necklace) for her Oral needs. We’ve offered at least 10 different chews to her over the past year, but nothing holds a candle to her Ew. She loves it, She NEEDS it.

and sometimes, the EW just isn’t enough. Yesterday was a “Star Day” (out of her normal routine), we had to wait while her big brother did Karate.

She did this to her EW in 30 minutes and I never had a clue she was upset. She watched a movie in the car with a big smile on her face. She is getting better at communicating, but things like this remind me how much work we still have for her to be able to truly communicate her feelings.

Another piece of Ava is she loves PRESSURE. I was told by one of Ava’s therapists that children with Autism don’t feel the world around them like we do. They don’t feel the couch underneath them as they sit on it, they don’t feel their clothes on their body how we do, they don’t feel the space around them how we do.

Ava NEEDS Pressure, and she gets it in:

her clothing- we wear lots of “Dance, Dance” – leotards, leggings, tights, heavy dresses & skirts that move

her weighted blankets & lap pads

swimming

her trampoline

her swings

Ava loves to swing, we have a platform swing & this snuggle swing, we use both Ava requests the swing she wants and she knows which one she needs & when. After yesterday’s “Star Day” (different than our normal routine), she needs her snuggle swing (lots of pressure), she asks for Big or Little Pushes and tells us how many. We do this 2-3 times a day for 20-30 minutes. She also has swing time at school (she requests it). As you can see, she LOVES it. We sing, do flash cards, puzzles, social stories, & more while in/on the swing. Sometimes Addie joins Ava in the swing. Which has made their bond GROW 300% over the last 2 weeks.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my Ava. She’s my beautiful butterfly, funny monkey & complicated puzzle all rolled into one.

My next installment will let you into our lives a little more, and will cover another piece of Ava… Sibling LOVE.

Permanent link to this article: http://connaugh24748.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/a-few-of-the-little-pieces-that-are-my-beautiful-butterfly-ava-april-autism-awareness-month/

Apr 10

Autism Speaks to my heart… {National Autism Awareness Month}

This is a month that means a lot to me. Autism Awareness. As many of you know our middle child, Ava (4yrs) was diagnosed in Nov. 2011 with Autism (PDD-NOS), to me the diagnosis was a confirmation of things I already felt in my deepest of hearts, but it also threw the doors wide open us and for Ava, it gave us a chance to learn so much about her, and all her little puzzle pieces.

Ava has always been a beautiful, sweet, smart, loving little girl. Some of her favorite things are;

Her big brother Ayden

Swimming, and all things Water

“Dance, Dance, Dance” she sings it as she says it. :)

Her baby sister Addie (I love how she says her sisters name… Aaah-deeee)

She’s a Daddy’s Girl

Dressing up, and being just like her big brother.

She is not afraid to get dirty, especially for chocolate, and she has one awesome sense of STYLE. :)

Ava is now enrolled in private therapy for speech & OT (which she loves), her amazing school district has implemented the STAR curriculum for her (she is 1 of 2 students in the district with Autism), and we’ve implemented all sorts of visual & sensory routines for her at home. Knowing is 1/2 the battle they say, and I’m so grateful for everyone that’s in Ava’s court. She has an amazing group of people that support her, and for that we are so very blessed!

We are fortunate that we are able to financially cover many of Ava’s needs. BUT the one need that we can’t afford is a fence for our yard. Ava has no fear. In some situations it’s a blessing because she will try new things. But in other situations, it’s a mother’s worst fear. Ava will climb the tallest tree, walk up to any dog she sees, walk into the road oblivious of cars, she’ll jump into pools & onto trampolines because well, they’re fun. She doesn’t understand the danger or the risks to herself.

With every sale from my designs shop, I am putting that money aside for a fence for our backyard (who knew fences were so much $$!!), we are going to do all labor ourselves with the help of friends & family, but we are trying to raise money for the materials.

Here is a link to my etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/capturedbymaggie

there you can find one of my latest digital printable designs..

Permanent link to this article: http://connaugh24748.c4.cmdwebsites.com/blog/autism-speaks-to-my-heart-national-autism-awareness-month/

Feb 15

Mmmmm, The way to their hearts is through their tummies.. Fiesta Soup Recipe

As I thought about what to make my Valentines for supper last night, I was in a funk. Nothing sounded good, or perfect enough, and I couldn’t incorporate hearts into anything I had. I had planned to pick up a Papa Murphy’s heart pizza earlier in the day, but Miss Ava our 4yr old Autistic daughter did NOT have a good day at therapy. So plans changed.

I’m in the kitchen staring into the fridge, opening cupboards, and I start thinking what I needs to get eaten up before vacation (next week)? I decided my normal go to of pasta wouldn’t cut it for a special valentines day dinner.. SOO I end up making Fiesta Soup with Tortilla strips. The reaction from my family was awesome! They loved it, bowls were cleaned, leftovers barely made it to lunch today.. So I had to share my recipe with you.

The meat in this soup can be cut out entirely, or substituted with chicken, steak, or even pork.

Ingredients for soup:

  • 2 oz Olive Oil
  • 2 Russet Potatoes
  •  2 cups/160z Chicken Stock
  • 1 tsp chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 can diced tomatoes with green chili’s (similar to Rotel)
  • 3 Italian Sausages
  • 1 cup diced Celery
  • 1 cup kernel corn
  • Toppings, I used shredded cheese & sour cream as well as home made Tortilla Strips (see recipe below)
  • 1 c pasta, cooked al dente (1/2 cup dried pasta, is approx 1 cup cooked)
Poke potatoes with a fork and place in microwave on high heat for 7 minutes, when cool dice into 1″ chunks and set aside.  In a stockpot on medium heat place olive oil, remove sausage from casings (I did this by just squeezing 1″ balls of the casings, perfect little meat balls), and place into stock pot, add can of tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes until meat is no longer pink.  Add celery, corn, spices, chicken stock, and potatoes to stockpot, bring to a boil, then add pasta and  simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls, top with tortilla strips, sour cream & shredded cheese.  If you’re thinking why potatoes & pasta, well they work great as natural thickeners as they break down, so they give the soup a awesome texture, and well we’re Irish there has to be potatoes. :)
Tortilla Strips:
2- 8″ tortilla shells (corn would be great, but I only had flour tortillas on hand)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 oz Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 375. Mix oil & spices together and brush onto both sides of tortillas. Using a pizza cutter or knife slice tortillas into thin 1/4″ strips. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake until golden brown (approx 12 minutes).
In the summer, I would make this with fresh peppers, corn, tomatoes.. YUM!
Enjoy!!!
Next recipe up is homemade Goldfish/Cheeze Crackers! :)

 

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Feb 03

Spreading the LOVE ♥ {Portrait Photographer, SE MN Giveaway}

Paying it forward. This is my resolution for 2012, and with that brings a little change to my annual “Spread the Love” contest.

Do you know someone who deserves a portrait session? Someone who can’t afford a portrait session?

  • A family that was just blessed with an amazing little miracle baby.  But photos are put on the back burner to pay the hospital bills.
  • A dad/mom who want nothing more than to give that upcoming graduate the photo they dream of, but just putting food on the table is hard.
  • A woman who looks back at her wedding images wishing, dreaming.
  • A family who has never had a family portrait.

Spread the Love, and Nominate them to receive a session.

Details:

  1. To nominate someone, post a photo of them on my facebook wall along with the story behind the nomination.
  2. Spread the word! “Share” the image from my wall to family & friends ask them to “Like” your photo/nominee.
  3. Contest runs from Feb 2nd, 2012- Feb 13th 2012, with the winner announced on Valentines Day!
  4. How do you Win? 50% of your total is from the “Likes” on your nominee’s photo, 25% is from me,  and the last 25% is from a private panel of your peers (moms, dads, teens, photographers).
  5. What do you receive? The nomination will decide the final prize. The minimum prize is a portrait session and $50 print credit ($150 Value).
    Example: A newborn nominee would receive a newborn session, a Senior a Senior Session, a Rock the Dress session for that woman who never had the wedding photos she dreamed of.

Rules:

  1. You can’t nominate yourself.
  2. No name calling, bashing, NADA. NO DRAMA.  Any rude comments will be deleted, and if they are associated with a nomination that nomination will be removed.
  3. 1 Entry per household.
  4. Nominee needs to be over 18 (if nominating a Senior, or a Newborn then nominate the parent and tell the story).
  5. Nominee needs to be local to Lewiston, MN or be able to travel to Lewiston, MN.

This contest is in no way endorsed or associated with Facebook.

 

Ready, Set, Go. The contest is a foot! I can’t wait to hear from you about those you love!

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

 

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Jan 31

Class of 2013 Seniors- Senior Rep Program {Senior Portraits, SE Minnesota Photographer}

It’s that time of year! Time to start recruiting and accepting applications for my Senior Rep Program!

Interested? Know someone who would be great? You can find the application here: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYo4EJfXUpH1ZGNjNDdjODlfMWN6ODVndmd3

I start reviewing applications in Feb, and will announce my Senior Rep’s via my facebook  page before April 1st.

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Jan 08

Winner Winner Best of 2011- Family-Newborn-Wedding-Portrait-Photographer-Rochester MN – Onalaska WI

What fun! I have done many contests in the past, and this is the first one that was stress free, and no Drama!! SO thank you so much to everyone who was a part of it!!

Now onto what everyone is waiting for! When the contest started two entries pulled out to a fast lead and stayed there through out the duration of the contest.

Miss Delaney in her Pearls,

and Twins Claire & Cadence when they were newborns.

Out of over 100 Votes placed Less than 10 votes separated the top two………..

…………………………Drumroll Please…………………………………………………………

………….and the Winner is………….

The Frauenkron Twins!! They receive a complimentary portrait session from me! Just in time for their One Year Session!! Happy Birthday Girls!!!!

Let me acknowledge the work put into this contest by everyone involved. I really appreciate it! And to show my appreciation I have decided to award a runner up prize as well……….

Miss Delaney you receive:

A NEW product, a 11×11″ Ornate Metal Print! (with holes for hanging). They are BEAUTIFUL and CUSTOM.

Thank you to all who made this Contest successful! I will be announcing the Winner of the 16×20 Float Wrap tomorrow, I need someone to record the drawing, so it will be when the kids are up.

Thank you to all my clients & fans for a successful 2011, I look forward to an amazing 2012.

God Bless!

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Jan 02

The Best of 2011 {On Location & In Studio Portrait Photographer, MN}

As I said Good Bye to 2011, and greeted 2012 I looked back at in my opinion the best year I have had yet. What a blessing to be able to say that! It’s been a year of up and downs, sometimes more downs than ups, but it’s a year that I have learned so much! Personally & Professionally. At the end of the day (um, year), I am so completely satisfied. My soul is at peace, which is something I haven’t had in a long time.

As I go through and do my annual book keeping of things I should of done during the year (*slaps own hand, Naughty!), I am blessed to get to go back and look at the sessions & clients I have photographed over the past year. Beautiful you are!! (I felt a little like Yoda, from Star Wars there..).

I can’t explain what each of you mean to me, I know I say it a lot.. but you are truly a blessing to me. Especially now as I enter a time of change & growth in my personal life.

For me personally, 2011 brought:

Our oldest Ayden turning FIVE (That’s a whole hand!!), and entering Kindergarten, which in turn brought everything Kindergarten brings. I often hear “Mom, I am a big boy now, I can do it”.

Our baby girl Addie turned ONE! She’s not only walking, she’s running!  She is a chatterbox, a water baby, the life of the party, and a JOY. She puts a smile on my face whenever I need one.

Our Ava (4yrs) was diagnosed with Autism (PDD-NOS) and Speech Dyspraxia, my best sleeper stopped sleeping, became a Ninja (man is she Stealth & can climb tall counters in a single bound!), and Amazes me everyday.  Our world kind of tilted on it’s axis with her diagnosis and everything leading up to it. Everything I’d been carefully balancing came crashing down. There were a few weeks or so there where I felt I was grasping for control of my life, and my home.

Then of course, I did what I should of been doing the entire time. I stopped trying to be in control and let GOD be in control. Such a peace that passes all understanding entered my soul and in turn entered my home. Ava is my crazy monkey & beautiful butterfly all rolled into one. 2012 will bring new therapy & programs for her and a new schedule for me.

Which brings me to thanking you again! With out you my clients allowing me to have this job, I wouldn’t be able to do everything I am able to do for Ava. I wouldn’t have the flexibility I need for her. So thank you!!

And with that said.. ON to my favorite’s from 2011!

Wait. Did you hear that? I hear CONTEST.

A little different this time.

I am putting all the names of my clients over the past year into a hat, and randomly choosing One Winner, that winner will receive a special prize. I’ll unveil it later this week! Think BIG.

THEN, I am also taking one winner from this blog post! 

HOW? Share this post, spread it around. SEND your friends & family to my Facebook page here.

And have them comment on my facebook page’s WALL with the Name of the Person/Family in the picture they are voting for. The person with the most Votes Wins!

The PRIZE:  A FREE Portrait Session with me!

This contest will run until Jan 7th. Start spreading the word!!!

*This contest is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Facebook or any of it’s affiliates.

In no particular order……………………………….

MY BEST OF 2011:

 

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