A real dream come true...

Oh!  Let's talk about Blue Lily, shall we?  *nodding/crazed look*

There are a million ways to tell you how special meeting Tyler and Wendy was... and how amazing it was to be in front of their lens... and how inspiring it was to watch Wendy work... and how special it was to receive the images as interpreted by her... of our little family.

But it's hard to clearly express those sorts of things while I am still in Blue.Lily.Euphoria... I could wait til it wears off- but if I do, about half a dozen of my readers will come for my head.  So, let's just get on with it, shall we? Plus, how much fun is it to upload pictures that I haven't taken and spent time processing myself?  Oh the ease of it... *sigh* 

To meet them, we had to drive over to Texas where they were spending ONE DAY shooting in Houston.  They are based out of California- but each year, they go on world tours... globe trotting around with sessions scheduled along their stops.  So far this year I think they've hit Australia, New Zealand, Japan... I may be missing a place.  So they came through Texas shooting in Houston, Austin, and Dallas... then up through the states to Canada... and now they are flying over to shoot their way through Europe.  *sigh* 

I was so nervous as we rode out to meet them at our location... we were all dolled up.  The boys were prepped with bribes positive encouragement. And I was armed with a sharpie marker and my shootsac in hopes of getting their autographs.  :) 

We started walking towards our location and I saw Tyler first with a family behind him walking towards us... then Wendy and her long red hair fanned out to the back.  It was such a neat feeling seeing them in person like that.  I was a little star.struck.  Immediately, I was struck by their sincerity and warmth.  Tyler greeted me so humbly and immediately got down on his knees to start rough housing with the boys.  It was so unexpected and special... makes me wonder if I greet my MSP children with such warmth and respect?  Then Wendy came towards me with her arms out for a big hug.  There is no way she could have known that I've been following her work since 2007ish... so hugging her neck was so special! 

In an instant, she made me feel like we were old friends... and her only client in the world.  Again, made me wonder if my clients would say the same about me and how I make them feel?  We talked and talked and walked and walked to our location spots... And then the magic happened.  We played.  We laughed.  We ran.  And she took pictures of it all. 

The weather was so odd... gray skies, 50 degrees and windy.  Really windy. 

The boys did great.  We had so much fun.  And she heaped a hundred compliments on my head about our little family as we walked back to the car.  I felt beautiful and special and lucky to be alive.  I felt inspired as a mother, inspired as an artist, and inspired as a woman.  Most of all, I was struck at her spirit of kindness, sincerity, and generosity....

My friends have asked if they "were all that you thought they would be?"  I mean, I regard their work as some of the best in the business... and in my world, they set the bar for honest and thoughtful photography... perfectly imperfect.  So that's a whole lotta pressure riding on a pair of people.  But they were completely what I had hoped for and more.  More warmth and more joy than I was prepared for.  Which of course made me wonder if my clients leave our time together feeling joyful... like something magical just happened...??? 

It was a beautiful moment for me... a dream come true. 

Here are a few images from our session.  I prefer being behind the camera... but it's a treat to have images of me with my handsome manlies. 

See?

*all photos in this blog post are credited to Blue Lily Photography

can't wait to send some images to Spotted Moth, the boutique I got my dress from... such a sweet indie shop.

oh... my boy.joys.

one of my favorites...

I *almost* didn't post this one... but when you mix a short dress and 4" heels into a family photoshoot, you may get a shot like this... precious, yet very very leggy.  Needless to say, this won't be our "above the mantel shot."  Lol

this one is for Erica... ;)

I'm so pleased with how the images turned out.  I can't wait to order our large prints and Organic Bloom frames.  :)  I feel so lucky to have such special images of my little family taken by my photography mentor... i'm over.the.moon about the whole experience.  And of course, it leaves me hoping that my mustard.seed clients feel the same way to some extent when they see my images of their lovies.  It certainly inspires me to be the best for them. 

***Thank you, Marcus, for always listening and noticing the little things that make my world bright.  Meeting Wendy and Tyler and having them document our little family the way that we love means so much to me.  With you, I always feel nothing is out of reach for me... for us... for them.  And that's credit to you and your heart and your never.failing efforts.  I love you. 

I'll share a few more in my next post... :)

Peace, Love, and theBlueLillies...

xo

lmkw

theDuckling Turns TWO!

Yes, it's time for a birthday post!

(I still haven't combined, edited, and spent sufficeint time with the pictures... there are thousands.  BUT I will be posting a facebook album soon.  Our photographer for the event did a marvelous job *no, not me* and I'm so very excited about sharing her work.  If you don't see your precious bebe in this tiny snippette, be patient bc you'll have full access to the FB album... if, of course, you are my friend.) 

It was a beautiful day for a Picnic in NaNa's Garden. We had a beautiful afternoon eating and playing.  I wanted the feel to be more like a old fashioned church social than a rushed, early morning, toddler birthday party... I wanted our guest to eat, lay on the picnic blankets with their bebies, enjoy our cake walk, and just mingle and relax and visit.  From what I can tell, I think we did just that.  ;)

Here is a small view of what Jackson's big day was like: *click the images to make them larger... more colorful and less grainy.  I need to find a new blog site... blogger is killing my images. 


theDuckling, theJacker, Brother, Jackson Briggs... our boy.joy. 




There was food... lots of fresh and tasty food! 




There were cute brothers with cute bunnies... 15 to be exact.  *Bunnies, that is.





Did I mention... cute bunnies?  15 puffy tales... ?  Yes? 



There was an old fashion cake walk!!!





The cake table!  150 cupcakes to satisfy even the pickiest Cake Walk Winner! And jars of old fashioned candies... *All within kid reach... I wanted them to have whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted... And the parents humored me. 




Robin egg homemade sugar cookies... my very favorite treat. 




Coconut nests, swiss meringue rabbits... just to name a few homemade favorites!




More Easter sugar cookies... my secret recipe.  ;)




There was the center of attention...  He enjoyed his day! 




There was carrot pulling and little girls in sundresses....




There were favorite daddies and favorite bebies...

  






There were beautiful mommies and bebies getting to try sweets... *swoon*







There were hay bales topped with the cutest and most well behaved children around!  *be still my heart!!!*




There was golden light and a lush green garden...





Did I mention the bunnies?  30 ears, 15 twitchy noses? 




There were paper blooms strung from bean poles and tomato stakes...




There was pure sunshine...





There were the cutest compost bins around...




There was a bit of posing and hamming it up for the camera...




There was some praying... and bebies on blankets.






There were presents and another precious BlaBla...




There were boys in fedoras...







There was mugging down sweet smooches of appreciation...







There were goodbyes at sunset and a little after.party.glow...





It was a beautiful day... full of beautiful people who mean so much to us.  I can't believe our bebe is now two years old... He's a wonder.  A joy.  He's taught us so much in the past 24 months of him being in our nest... on this planet.  We all adore him so much.  Our little marvel...

Peace, love, and spring.time. 

xo

lmkw

Update from the Delta...

Oh!  I've missed blogging. 

I've neglected this place... If truth be told, I'm considering a facebook break for the summer so I can get back to blogging again.  I miss writing things all out to completion... with pictures. 

This has been an amazing Spring season for us in our little nest.  We celebrated Jackson's 2nd birthday in grand style.  *That post will be next.  :)  We took a trip to meet my favorite photographers and be photographed as a family by them... it was what dreams are made of.  *Another killer post in the making.  Marcus worked most of the time in Texas while we stayed back for MSP and school... *with the silver lining of working on getting back to Texas permanently.  We are ankle deep in details for big changes coming up soon... I'm dreaming big.  And I feel like we are in a good place.  So much to look forward to. 

Now, let's talk about this rising Mississippi River!  It's been crazy watching the flooding all over the country... and how it's all trickled down to our banks.  We are a port city, so we've all been holding our breath as the waters rose and rose and rose... waiting on pins and needles to hear if/when the government would open the Morganza Spillway to relieve the swelling.  And open they did... flooding the precious city and surrounding area just north of our little nest.  Prayers goes out to those who lost beloved farmland and precious homes. 

It's amazing how destructive water can be.  We know that all too clearly down here in South Louisiana.

We depend on these waters... but we've been knocked to our knees when the waters rise or levees fail or oil washes in wave after wave. 

I wanted to see with my own eyes how high the Mississippi was getting.  So a friend and I packed up our bebies and a picnic dinner and spent the evening out on the levee this past Wednesday. 

Picture evidence: (click to see the larger, better quality image)


My friend and our bebies overlooking the water... usually, the bank is around that furthest tree there in the background.  This was last Wednesday.  The water is STILL rising.  We expect it to crest tomorrow some time. 



This is taken right off our LSU campus.  The city skyline you see in the distance is downtown Baton Rouge where our capitol is.  We are having seepage and sand boils on our college campus which is right over this levee. 

These guys were fishing with grass shrimp as the waters were rising.  This is a huge catfish... they were also taking off a river eel when I took this shot.  I'm surprised they were catching them with the water rising like this. 

Sunset on the river... beautiful.

Our bebies performing for us.  We were giving them riddles about our state... Yes, to keep them from running wild, rolling into the flood waters, and getting swept away by the current. 



When Allie and James' Christmas card pic... :)



And as the sun sank into the floodwater we loaded up and headed home.  It was a beautiful sight.  A beautifully destructive sight. 

I'll be back soon.  I've got so much to tell you. 

Until then,
peace, love, and holding.tight.
xo
lmkw