I love taking pictures of Hudson. Capturing little things of his life - so much fun. When we lived in Louisville, I used portrait studios for his milestone dates (newborn, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months). When we moved here, when Hudson was 10 months old, I searched and searched to no avail to find someone or somewhere to get his one year old photos taken. I have since discovered one lady who takes photos in the town over but to be honest, her work is not exceptionally impressive for the cost. So I do them myself. I don't have a fancy camera, but I do have a cute subject and with some extra patience I am able to get some good shots.
Just for reference, here are some shots from last year, when he was a wee one-year-old.
Photographing a one-year-old last year was so much easier than this year. Last year, he was only just crawling so I could take my time focusing and taking the photo. Not so much this year. I had to be on my toes to keep up with this little bugger who never slows down.
And because no photo shoot is complete without funny outtakes, here are ones from this year. Mostly because somebody refused to cooperate at times. Oh well, 'tis the nature of a toddler I suppose.
"Hudson look at Mama!" - I need a camera with this recorded on it.
Sorry this is sideways :(
This is the look I get in response to "Say Cheese!" Goofy boy.
No photo shoot is complete with an appearance from the Grumpy Face.
Last weekend, we had the pleasure of eating with a fellow pastor and his family. It was a great, encouraging time to be with another family who, like us, are busy with kids, ministry, and life in general.
When we first coordinated our get-to-together, I asked for clarification when they recommended us coming for dinner. "Do you mean dinner-lunch or dinner-supper?"
This led to a conversation while there about the unique vocabulary of the area in which we all now live. James and I had assumed (wrongly) that it was just us who had to get accustomed to the northeastern Missouri way of referring to things, blaming our southern upbringing. But this family is originally from Wisconsin and they have the same problems, so apparently this are just has special ways of speaking.
For example:
This is not a vacuum...
this is a sweeper.
This is not a toilet...
this is a stool.
This is not a potluck...
this is a carry-in.
This is not lunch...
this is dinner.
This is not dinner...
this is supper.
This is not a snow plow...
this is a blade.
This is not a driveway...
this is a lane.
This is not a coke (as it in in TN) or a pop (as it is in KY and WV)
this is a soda.
And those are just the ones I can think of, off hand. It's fascinating to me that our country is so large and diverse that there are so many different words used to describe the same item. Enjoy your daily lesson in the northeast Missouri dialect. :)
Apparently we didn't take many photos together in 2009 -- oops!
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
There have been good days, bad days, laughter, tears, fights, love, and everything emotion you can imagine in between.
God has used marriage in my life to teach me about my own sinfulness and desperate need of the gospel. Can you say selfish? Because this is me. I so need Jesus to be able to love James well and he needs Him to love me because let's be honest, we're not always that loveable.
The past two years have been especially sweet as we've had Hudson. God has used Hudson to bring James and me closer as we not only strive to love and serve one another well, but also come together to do what's best for our little one. Parenting is truly a team effort.
This past year, James has pastored our sweet little church. That has brought a new dynamic to our marriage that I both expected and didn't expect (do not try to make it make sense). Watching you pour yourself over the Scriputres as you prepare sermons, hearing your prayers for the people who need Jesus in our community, and listening to your heart for the people of our church has done a lot to strengthen my faith in our great God.
It's been sweet to have him as my partner in this journey of marriage, parenthood, and ministry.
We're both unnecessarily stubborn, passionate, tempermental, and thankfully completely committed to each other. I'm thankful for you, James! Marriage truly is a minefield, but with God's grace and mercy we're dancing our way through it.
We bear the light of hte Son of Man, so there's nothing left to fear.
So I'll walk with you in the Shadowlands until the shadows disappaer.
Because he promised not to leave us and his promises are true.
So in the face of all this chaos, I can dance with you.
