It's times like these....

...that I wish I had a credit card. But I do not have one. And therefore I must wait until I have the funds to purchase a new camera!! Ours is on the fritz!! And i really don't want to try to get it repaired because 1)we can't afford that, and 2)we have been wanting/needing a new one. It just really sucks. We planned on getting an upgrade in Feb (when we get our income tax return). But atleast we still had the Rebel until then. BUT now it looks like we will have nothing. Or sometimes we will have nothing. I don't know what it wrong with the camera--the shutter button doesn't work half the time. And the focus isn't working half the time either (which I guess is the lense--but it's a kit lense-so I don't really care). It has gotten us by this far.

We have several mini-sessions this weekend. So we will be renting.

This really makes me sad--because it means we have to put things on hold again. But maybe it is for the best. I have school to concentrate on.

I am not sure which camera we will get. I want a full frame--but that will have to come a lot later. Almost $3,000 is certainly not happening anytime soon. But I do know we will be getting the Canon 50mm 1.4. I have heard a lot about the 40D--which is hard to come by. So until I can get my hands on a 5D Mark II-I think that 40D will be good. But who knows.

I've been thinking alot lately....

about EVERYTHING!! I know some people think that money is bad, or it can not bring happiness. Well, I agree money itself will not make a person truly happy.

But money helps one stay a little happier. Less stressed.

I often say I wish I were rich. While that would be nice--I don't really care about being rich. I just want to have no worries about paying bills and still have extra to splurge sometimes. take family vacations, own a home, etc.

I am currently in school to be an RN. While this is not my dream career--it will help us stay financially afloat. And then Justin (with my help) will be able to start our photography business (for real).

I still wonder if we should continue to get our name out there. It costs a good deal of money to start a business. And maintain it. And I want to make sure that this will be a successful one.

I want my children to have memories of family trips. I want to go to the mountains, and amusement parks, and so much more.

I could go on and on...but I have a million things to do.

Little Wrinkled Feet

Emily loves to take a bath. And often to stop a tantrum in it's tracks I suggest she take a bath. She swims in my tub and plays and splashes. For those next 30 minutes she is as content as can be. (and it allows me to get a few minutes of peace)

She will call out to me that she is done--and I fetch her a towel. But lastnight when I came back with a towel for her she was laying down in the water with her feet propped up in the side of the tub. It was a perfect capture--and I quickly ran to grab my camera. Of course when I came back she was sitting up. So I asked her to lay back down and do it again. She did (which is rare).

I love her little wrinkled feet.

Images I am Thankful For

The older we get the faster it seems life passes us by. I remember being in elementary school and thinking I'd never get through to the next year. But now every year feels like it goes by faster than the previous. This makes me want to hold onto memories even more. And for me the best way is with photographs.

I started out loving photography for it's artistic aspects. I still do, but it has evolved into something more. I want to capture moments. I want my photos to tell a story. I want them to raise memories from the dead. And while we can't literally stop time-a photograph seems to allow us to in a sense.

I wanted to share some images that make me smile and will for years and years to come. When my children are grown I want to have many memories--and for when my mind fails me I will have photographs to bring them back to the surface.

These (obviously) are just a few. It was very difficult to choose. I have soo many that bring back memories.

These 3 are of Emily playing. I was sitting at the computer and she would come up to me needing the lipgloss opened, wanting to wear Brenna's bra, and wanting to take my picture.

We recently found out my dad has cancer. And this was taken at my niece's first bday party. When my dad got there he wanted hugs. Trent is quite shy, but daddy pulled him in and loved him. I quickly took a picture. This melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes.

When we first got Lola. She was free. And she was the cutest and most cuddly little ball of fur.

I took the kids outside to play and thought I'd snap some photos. I wanted to get atleast one of all three of them looking and smiling. haha. Brenna had the idea of looking sad. So she told them to all make a sad face. As you can see she is the only one that did it. But it was soo funny. As soon as she said that I started laughing.

On the same day we went out to run around--Trent had his great idea of putting sticks between his fingers to be wolverine (fromthe X-Men). This is so Trent!


Brenna at my dad's. My stepmom has a home daycare-so they have lots of toys and playhouses in a fenced in area of their yard. The kids loved it. They hadn't really met my dad and stepmom much before. But they took right to them.

I should be studying....

BUT my mind won't concentrate on all these A&P terms. AAHHHHH!!! I have a test tonight. darn you procrastination!!

Studying has never been a strong suit of mine. Probably because I have never had to study. Never! For real. And yes i did very well in school. But I guess after three children this ADD is really kicking in--and kicking my butt. I have always had a rough time concentrating when reading something I found to be boring, but I was able to force my mind into liking it for a little while. Now--oh, now it is different story. I have MANY distractions. And I can't tune any of them out.

SO you see...this is why I am on my blog instead of reading about the nervous systems and muscles. Yes! I waited until the last minute. Yes! I feel terrible about that. And I always have every intention of doign things the "right" way. But my ADD gets the best of me. (--Just so you all do know--I DO NOT KNOW IF I IN FACT DO HAVE ADD!!!)

I guess I should get back to these quizzes before Emily wakes up.

Emily's 2nd Birthday-Revisited

We try to make our children's birthdays a big deal around here (who doesn't, right?). We have never had the funds to go all out, but regardless our children know they are loved and they are grateful for everything the receive.
When a birthday doesn't fall on the weekend, then we have a cake and sing happy birthday just the 5 of us at home. (And then we will have a party on the weekend.)But this is our opportunity to have a family "party". And celebrate one of our own.

I have been looking at old photos lately. And editing some of them to my liking. I came across photos from our family birthday celebration for Emily turning 2. It brought back great memories. And just look at the love.

Hill Art & Photography

I created a new blog for Hill Art & Photography. The one on Tumblr was just not working out to my liking. I won't be completely satisfied until I have a website (with a blog) that is completely customized. but until then this will have to do.
Here is the link.

Loaded Weekend (for us)

So this weekend was overflowed. The kids had a lot of fun, which always makes us have more fun.
Friday night we prepared ourselves for the next 2 fun-packed days. I cleaned the apartment (except for Trent's room and my bedroom).
Saturday morning we slowly crept out of bed and reluctantly got ready for the day. Or maybe it was just myself. The were all in costumes, and i brought a change of clothes for all three (I knew it would get hot). We finally made it out and headed downtown to the festivities. Um...can I just say it was not all that great! But the kids really enjoyed it, and that's all that matters. Right?
We came home with lunch and ate. The kids were supposed to take a nap, but that did not happen (I was very disappointed-but I wanted to go to sleep). Later that afternoon-we got cotumes on again. Although, this time Brenna had no wig and wore leggings instead of her tights. Trent had a short-sleeved shirt on. And Emily had a short-sleeved leotard on. It had cooled off from the noon sun, but I wanted them to be comfortable. We made it to publix just in time. They made their way around the entire store, stopping to hold out their buckets at every department. Then we headed to a church. A church that I went to when I lived here a million years ago. That has trunk-o-treat. And then we walked over to the jump houses. Um...yeah. That was a no way! A million kids crammed in there, while no adults supervised. I think not! The kids got their faces painted instead (we spent about 20 minutes standing in line). Then we came back home.

Somewhere in that night we got movies. I am pretty sure it was at the end-after the face painting. Yeah, it was. Because I remember Emily was asleep when we got to Blockbuster, and I carried her around the store. Then when we got home, of course she was wide open. And didn't go back to sleep until about midnight. Think it was all the sugar?

Sunday I had good intentions. But they didn't pan out like I hoped. We went to Publix (again), but this time it was for groceries. When we got home we made lunch and then the kids were sent to their beds. I was determined a nap would happen (atleast for them). Emily finally knocked out a few hours later around 5. I figured it would be ok because I'd wake her at 6 to go to a fall festival. Well, about 5:30 I laid down in Brenna's bed, and didn't wake until 7:30. So we missed the festival, and I was afraid it might be too late to go trick-or-treating since we would still have to get ready.

I felt bad for the kids, who acted like they were too tired to even care. So all was well. And the house is back in complete disaster mode again. I will be busy today for sure.