A Miracle - Chicago Area Photojournalist

One day last week R was playing on the deck and saw this amazing site: one little blue egg inside a nest.  The next day when we checked there were two little blue eggs.  The following day there were three little blue eggs.  Now the nest in our tree right at the edge of our deck has four... we couldn't believe it... FOUR little blue eggs.  This is one busy mama Red Robin.  Does she know what she's getting herself into, I wonder?

Most of the day she sits on her nest guarding her babies and keeping them nice and toasty.  As any good mother would.

One sunny day as I was folding the mountain of laundry in the kitchen, out of the corner of my eye I saw her fly away with another bird.  That "other" bird I suspect is daddy bird.  I quickly grabbed my camera and a ladder to capture these images.

What a miracle these little eggs are.

    

Sometimes we can hear the mama Robin squawking very loudly, protecting her babies. My hubby said to the kids, "It sounds like our mama protecting her babies." The kids laughed. I replied, "Next time when you kids say your cold, like after taking a bath, I'm going to sit on you to keep you warm." We all laughed so hard.

A Life Lesson - Chicago Area Photojournalist

After almost a decade of being asked, I finally went shooting with my hubby.  I prefer shooting with a camera so the thought of handling a gun, was WAY out of my comfort zone.  I was very nervous about our date night activity but decided to have fun with it.  I got in my cowgirl boots and shirt, said "Yeehaw" a few times and while shaking in my boots was ready to take a deep breath and give it a try. 

To my surprise (and to my hubby's big surprise) I was actually good at it.  I hit the target in the red almost every time.  He was so proud telling me, "WOW! I can't believe how good you are." He also confessed that he expected me to hit the ceiling and floor a few times.  I'm proud to report I did neither. 

Then the gun went off BANG... What else have I been afraid to try? BANG...What else have I been putting off and avoiding to attempt?  BANG...What else could I be good at if only I put my fears aside, have fun and give it my best shot?

  

I took this last one with my phone.  I am going to print this one and put it on my bathroom mirror so I am reminded daily of the life lesson I learned on our adventurous date night.

Planting Seeds - Chicago Area Photojournalist

You reap what you sow.

We turned this patch of dirt into a garden. It's has been and is
going to be a lot of work until we can harvest but it will be worth it.
Isn't that true with anything you "plant"?

The three little seeds at home are sprouting too! "A lot of work"
is an understatement. But oh so worth it in every aspect.

We have planted spinach, broccoli, lettuce, purple potatoes, cilantro, chives, onion, garlic, mint, a blueberry bush, and strawberries. I can't wait till next month to plant more.

The M Family - Chicago Area Family Photojournalist

What a fantastic family spring session! Not only were they all beautiful people, they were also a lot of fun to work with. The rain held off and we had a great morning.

Thank you S, for asking me to take these. You are one of the very few people I connected with when we moved back to IL. I should say you are one of the very few people I allowed myself to connect with. After moving so many times and leaving great friends across the country it's hard to open myself up. You made it easy. Thank you for that! Even though I moved again and it isn't that easy to get together, I know we will be friends for a long time to come. Whether you like it or not ;)

Our First Family Vacation - Chicago Area Family Photojournalist

The best thing about my little monsters getting bigger is that we finally get to go on family vacations and enjoy it. We went to Wisconsin Dells, "the water capital". Interestingly enough, we went to an indoor water park/amusement park but this didn't even make the kids top three favorite things we did on vacation. We actually could have done with out it. They enjoyed being adventurous; going horseback riding, taking a ride on the Army duck boats, and dressing up like we were from the Wild West for a family portrait. Here are a few images from our adventures...

Hiding behind daddy.

This was the cabin we stayed in, it was beautiful and spacious.

Go ahead R, make yourself at home.

"You want me to get on that thing?"

M's first time on a horse. She was pretty nervous the first 15 min. I thought she might start crying but she stuck with it and at the end was talking like a pro rider.

Playing in the cabin.

The only picture I'm in besides the family Wild West portrait. This was on the last day before we went home. It's not perfect but I will treasure this picture for many years to come.