Happy New Year etc...

So Happy New Year everyone!

Is it really 2010? This is the year I will have our third baby and we will celebrate our 10th anniversary. Not to mention a new job for Wade, and a new place to live. Quite the way to begin this decade, don't you think?

So it's been a few days, understandably, since I've even thought of the blog. We have now officially been in Colorado just over a week, and I can't believe all that has happened in these last 7 days.

To begin, we flew back on New Year's Eve, while NYC was getting blanketed by snow. It was gorgeous to see (Wade blames me because I told him I would love to see the City in snow one more time), but it made travelling a little hairy. Ava was sick. Literally. To the point we had to buy her new clothes at LaGuardia. Ya, that kind of sick. And then that kind of sick on the plane.

The plane ride was one of the worst experiences I've had flying. To begin, we didn't have assigned seats. Who knows why. We went to check in the night before and there were no seats available. After our flight was delayed a bit, they finally got us seats...2 in the exit row, and 2 a few rows behind.

"Your children will have to sit by themselves as they are not allowed in the exit row."

Excuse me??

Oh, and by the way, did you not notice I am REALLY pregnant? I don't think pregos are allowed in the exit row either.

So after 5 minutes of some creative seat switching, I was able to sit with the kids and Wade was in the exit row. Only problem is the kids were not allowed to "visit" him in the exit row, and I was not allowed to trade seats with him so we could tag team taking care of the kids...one of whom was ill. Like being in a tiny squished seat at 6 months pregnant isn't bad enough! Oh, and I couldn't convince any passengers around me to switch seats with Wade....why wouldn't you trade someone for an exit row??!!! Hello???!!!!!!

But we made it. 4 1/2 hours later, we made it. I could have kissed the ground at DIA.

So this last week, the illness has spread to Tyson, myself, Wade, both my parents, and even Wade's parents. So stay away unless you want us to spread "the love"!!!

We are slowly recovering, settling into my parent's house (God bless 'em), and getting used to the idea that we actually moved back.

Oh, and did I mention we bought a house a couple days ago? What could have been a lllooooonnnngggggg house hunt (mostly because I am fairly particular), we found one we could agree on that only had one negative thing going for it. It's in Highlands Ranch. A place we thought we would never live. It is the ULTIMATE in suburban living, but we're giving it a whirl. Love the house, the layout, the space, and the schools. I honestly would have loved to buy an older home and done some really cool renovations, but at this stage in our life, I just don't think that is best for us.

My new goal in life is to make a 3 year old suburban home look like it has "character". I will be adding crown moulding, some hardwoods (a little bit down the road), and some bead board. I am kind of excited to marry the modern conveniences with my antique/flea market/modern style. Maybe my new blog should be called, "Our Suburban Life". What do you think?

We close at the end of January, which is a big blessing, so we should be in our new digs by the first week of February.

So to wrap up my ramblings, I just went through some pictures from the last couple weeks, and I have a few more posts on this blog before I bid it farewell. I WILL have another blog that will be linked to my photography website, but I do not know what it will be called or exactly when I will start it.

But for now, I wanted to share my favorite photo from Christmas morning. My favorite thing on Christmas morning is to get up before ANYONE and just sit by the tree and soak in the atmosphere. I could just sit and stare at a decorated tree while the rest of the world sleeps....


P.S. My Christmas present from Wade is priceless. He downloaded my entire blog into a .pdf file that we can publish as a book. I looked at it, and just started bawling. Why wouldn't I? This has been one of the most incredible and exciting years in my life. We will wait until my very last post to do final editing and then I will have a memento to last a lifetime. I love it Wade. And I love you.

My body thinks I'm in NY

Good morning...

It's a whopping 5am in Denver, and I've been awake for an hour. I'm sitting in the dark in my in-laws basement trying not to type too loudly so I wake up Wade. I've been waking up pretty much at 4am every morning because my body is on NY time, and I cannot turn my brain off when my body wakes up. Are you that way?? Yesterday I woke up crying, and at least I'm not doing that today. I woke up yesterday in a panic thinking that I would have to bring Baby Gus "home" to either my parent's house or a rental house and he/she would have to sleep in a box.

The last two days have been a whirlwind, and we have seen about 30 houses. Did we buy one?? In a word....no.

I can't tell you how much I love Colorado, but this transition back home is proving to be harder than I anticipated. I love living here, and I love being near family, and I love the mountains and the fresh air and the outdoor living, but I'm really having a hard time.

House hunting is proving to be a real challenge for us. Ok, me. There are so many neighborhoods and so many schools. Do we buy for the school district? Do we buy because of the house? If we buy for the school district, will I really love the house? My renovation blood is going to kick into high gear, and do I want to do that with 3 little ones and a new baby? And will I over-renovate....again? If we buy for the house, will we like the schools? Is there any room for equity growth? What about Wade's commute? What about being near family? Suburb living, or city living?? Can I really live in the burbs?? I won't be able to walk to my grocery store!!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Turn off brain!!!!!!!

These are the thoughts that run through my head at 4am.

One thing we know for sure is that it is a great time to buy a house. Rates are low, and I think we can get a better deal now that we could two years ago. It's just a matter of finding the right combo that fits.

My prayer through this whole thing is that whatever house we buy, I want it to be a blessing to the seller. There are some hurting people out there and if we find the right house and it could be a blessing to some family out there who HAS to sell, well then that's the house I want to buy.

We head back to NY this afternoon, despite the blizzard they are having...I guess we should double check our flights....and the movers come in one week. ONE WEEK. I have one week left in NY. And I have to say goodbye to our life and friends there. And our cute house. And our neighbors. And Ava's preschool.

OK, now the tears are coming. So much for not crying today.

Moving

I just realized today that the movers are coming two weeks from today to pack us up.

I'm freakin' out just a little bit....

We are heading to Denver on Thursday for a short two-day house hunting trip, and we also just found out today that our #1 house that we've been eyeing for the last month or so just got rented. I guess it was listed for sale or rent, and they ended up renting it. I cannot tell you how depressed I am! I had already moved in mentally (despite my best efforts not to), and I had already come up with some rearranging of just a couple walls. Argh.

I know "there's something better out there", which I've already told myself, but quite honestly that doesn't help. I just want to wallow in my self-pity for a few days.

So I'm hoping we see some great things while we're home, and I'm just praying for an open heart and mind for me. I'm just too picky!

P.S. We had a great time in DC this last weekend, but you know what? I forgot to take pictures! So lame. Anyway, the show went well, and I sold some stuff, but more importantly we got to see friends and hang out with family before we move.

Happy Monday everyone!

My Head is Full....Literally

I've been awake since 4:30am. I feel like my Mother. I didn't think was supposed to happen until you're 50 or something!

Well I woke up because I, of course, had to pee because that's what pregnant women do at 4:30 in the morning. But then I wanted to check on Tyson's fever (he was at 103.4 last night), and then I realized how much my throat hurt, and then Baby Gus woke up and wouldn't stop kicking me, and then my brain turned on. There was no hope of going back to sleep.

This week has been exhausting, but surprisingly enough, I'm doing OK. With last Friday's ultrasound scare, then Ava getting sick, then Tyson getting sick, and trying to keep myself well through all this....it's pretty exhausting.

Wade is taking 1/2 day off today, and I CA-NNOT wait. Did I tell you his last day of work in Monday? Can you believe it? I can't.

So I know I threw out the fact that we are moving back to Colorado a couple posts ago, and I thought I should explain.

WE ARE MOVING BACK TO COLORADO. At Christmas. No wonder I can't turn my brain off!

Back in September, Wade got a call from one of his Denver clients (his favorite) wondering if he would be interested in working for them. Talk about left field. We spent a couple weeks thinking, talking and praying about the two options before us:

Stay at KPMG in NY and continue his career here and wherever the firm may take us, or

Leave NY early, move back to Colorado (aka home) and have a job that he's excited about AND allows Wade to be home for dinner on weeknights??!!

It was a hard decision, but we obviously chose option 2. He's been with KPMG 11 years now, and it is hard to say goodbye, but taking this job and moving back to Denver is ultimately what is best for our family. The hardest part for me is leaving NY. Honestly, how could you NOT love living here? Other than the cost of living of course.

Since Wade's last day with the firm is next week, he gets to use most of his vacation before we leave. Which means we get the next few weeks all to ourselves to run around and be tourists in NYC during Christmas!! I could not be MORE excited to have him home. We'll spend a quiet Christmas here, just us, then have movers come and pack us up. We hope to be home by New Years.

So that's our story. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. An amazing year in NY, a soon-to-be healthy family, a healthy pregnancy, and an opportunity to be back home in 2010.

It's a new day

I woke up this morning kind of in a blur of yesterday's happenings. I can't (but also can) believe how emotionally overwhelming yesterday was. Most who know me well know that I am not great at showing emotions, let alone crying. It's like that song "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick...."The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down".

That's pretty much how I am. If I allow the tears to come, which I need to do more often, the tears don't stop and I cry one of those cries where you can't catch your breath and all you do is blubber. But man, it feels good when it's over.

So that was me yesterday. As I sat in the doctor's office after I was told the baby had some bleeding on the brain, I was attempting to be strong and not let my mind wander down a path that would inevitably bring the downpour of tears. I had my children with me for crying out loud!! But after being left alone in an exam room for about 20 minutes alone with my thoughts, and my children who thought the exam table's stirrups (yes, THOSE stirrups) were meant to be a jungle gym, I completely lost it. Especially when Wade called and I had to explain what was going on.

Ava sweetly asked why my face was so red, and I think Tyson was oblivious to my emotional reaction. I had to explain to Ava what was going on and that the doctor's were talking to see what we could do for Baby Gus, and she just looked at me with her big hazel eyes and gave me a big 4 year old hug that melts a mother's heart. She is my compassionate one.

So that was the first of many episodes of "losing it" yesterday and I even surprised myself at how freely I was letting the tears flow...even though there was no confirmation as to what was really going on.

Looking back, I realize the emotion of yesterday was more than the possibility of my baby suffering, but was also a lot of cooped up emotion that I've been holding onto because we're moving back to Colorado. Yes, you read right. We are cutting our 3 year rotation in NY short. Wade got a job offer from a client in Denver that he accepted and we are moving back to Colorado just after Christmas. But that's a whole other post.

More than anything, I am grateful BEYOND WORDS to all our friends, family and neighbors who came around us in such a short amount of time to pray, take care of the kids, support, and petition God for healing. I wanted to share with you some of the encouraging words I received through e-mails, texts, facebook, and the blog. This is all IN ADDITION to many phone calls received, and all this came pouring in within just a couple hours.

Here are the words and prayers that carried me through yesterday...

Angela - "Wow. I am praying right now. I love you sweet friend."

My Dad - "I pray that our gracious Lord gave you a restful night of sleep and the joy of waking up to happy, healthy little children sounds. I’m sure there were lots of family hugs going all around this morning. There wasn’t more than a minute or two that you were out of my prayers for the 4-5 hours which inched by today until you again called mom on your way home. Believe me, it was difficult not to call you to rejoice, but I would only have broken down. I can only imagine how absolutely exhausted you all were tonight.It ’s experiences like this that make us far more sensitive and empathetic to others who bear more burdens than we could ever understand. Dear Jesus, we all are VERY humbled by your continuing, unmerited grace you shower on us all."

Melissa - "Praying! Psalm 139 got me through all the worry with Andy before he was born. I'm with Erin, Remove, Reverse and Restore! Love you!"

Aunt Shari & Uncle Bob - "Jodi called and alerted us to the stresses that your family is under right now. We are definitely praying that everything will turn out good. My Bible study/prayer group will also be praying. I love your friend's prayer: Re-move, Re-verse, Re-store! Two of my favorite verses that I rely on over and over: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the God of peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4: 6-7. So rest assured! Take care and keep in touch.... you're in our thoughts and prayers"

Julie - "hey you,read your blog and i am lifting you up and praying like crazy. i had a similar scare with William's u/s and multiple cysts on his brain (and a variety of horrible scenarios as a result) and just reading your post brought me right back to that time. as Phil wisely counseled me through my moments of fear (there were many)---god does not make mistakes. so i pray HIS blanket of peace to cover you. he has hand crafted that little baby and is and will be glorified in his creation. all my love."

Marla - "Praying for you, Wade and baby Gus! I love Jeremiah 1:5. God knows Gus inside and out and loves him so, so much!!"

Cousin Jodi - "Praying for baby Gus and the rest of you! Remember everything is just as God intended."

Wendi - "Just read your blog.....I am so thankful to hear that all is well with baby Gus."

Erin - "Praying for this to be RE-versed, RE-moved, and RE-stored. The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear. Hebrews 13:6. In the Greek, Helper = Boethos which describes God as One who comes RUNNING when we cry for help. Describes the Lord as poised and read to rush to the relief of His children when they call for help. We got you covered Kristen."

My Mom - "You are being covered in prayer even as I type. I have called and spoken with Sharon so all the So. Dakota family is praying. Joanne and family and friends are praying as well as our own prayer chain at church and friends in the Springs. God is wit h you in every circumstance and will be your strength and fort.Just know how Dad & I wish we could be there to wrap you in our arms of love...our prayers and our loving God will be so much better though."

My sister - "Love you, sis. Been praying and praising right along with you from AtoZ."

Dana - "Please let me know what I can do for you. I am here for you my friend! Sending you lots of love."

This whole experience may have been a mistake in reading the ultrasound by our first technician, but I really do believe we experienced a miracle yesterday and I will be forever praising God for his faithfulness in our lives. I am constantly amazed at the family of God and how quickly everyone comes together.

As my neighbor Berl put it best, I enlisted my "talented group"...referring to my fellow prayer warriors. He has no idea how true that is!!!

Last, I of course to post some sort of picture. This scene greets me at my front door, and I think it's message hits home in a special way this Thanksgiving.

Preview: Janeen and Avery

I just finished editing all of Avery's pictures from her one year session, and I can't resist sharing this series. I just LOVE it. The Colorado sunset was golden that night!!

Preview: The Rest of the Morgan Family

Here is the rest of the Morgan family. Little Lexi had her own session that I previewed a few posts ago....

How do you take a family photograph that includes 4 children under the age of 4, and get all 4 children to look at you??? I'm pretty sure the answer is that it's impossible! But that is life with 4 kids, and it's all good. Let's capture real life! That's what I love, and that's why I love photographing families in their homes, because that IS real life.

Here are a couple of the whole family that I love.



Here is Andrew and Zach, who I've been photographing since they were about 6 months old (I think). It's been a long time, and honestly, they look the same now as they did when I first photographed them. The eyes just never change, you know? They just have more hair!





Lucky for me, Brian is a photographer as well, so the past couple sesions we've had, he has his studio all set up in the basement ready to go for us. Lucky me!





I just love these next images. Here are the boys hanging out in Mom and Dad's bed being told to sit and/or lay still...


...and here they are after we told them they could jump like crazy!












Brian and Lindsay, congratulations again on baby Lexi's arrival. You do have a beautiful family, and thanks for inviting me back into your home!

Preview: Sydney & Zoe

I love that my business is word of mouth. I honestly think I get the best clients that way, and so my photography world feels like one big family, because we are all connected in someway through someone. I'm sure my business grew slower because of it, but that's how I like it.

Sydney & Zoe's family are a product of word of mouth, and I love it. I think this is the third time I've seen them, and the girls have grown so much since last year. Zoe is walking and has hair!!! Again, other people's kids seem to grow so much faster than my own.

So Sydney is a great big sister and was so much fun to hang out with. We had some great conversations and I love her because she is such an adventurous spirit. She loves to climb. I can relate because I loved climbing as a kid. Walls, rocks, trees etc. I loved being outside and scrambling over as much as I could.

But Sydney has something I always wished I had. Gorgeous dark brown hair and blue eyes. I mean, can you get a better combo??? It took me a while to appreciate my red hair, and I do love my blue eyes, but for so long I wanted the killer combo she has. Check her out...


And Sydney, I came home to NY and saw these shoes in the shop window that I was telling you about. They always make me think of you!



And here is Zoe...I'm excited to see if she follows in her sister's adventurous footsteps.





See, I told you she was adventurous. Sparkly shoes and a dress can't stop her! And she is such a Daddy's girl...







And what is a hot summer day without bubbles. I got so tired of blowing bubbles with my own kids and practically passing out that I bought one of those bubble machines that DJ's use. You just plug it in, and you get something like 1000 bubbles a minute...and no batteries!! But Sydney seemed to be doing just fine on her own...








OK, now this last picture just has to be my favorite. Can someone please take a picture of me and my kids like this? Next time I'm in Denver, I'm definitely going to hit up Wendy or Melissa for a photo session swap. I just love this image, and Kelly, I hope you like it too!


Thanks guys for a fun morning at your house. Love to you all!

Preview: Tatum & Harrison

Tatum and Harrison look just as cute as ever, and it was great to see them (and their parents) again while in Denver. One of the things I love about my job is witnessing kids grow up over the years. Kandis and I were pregnant at the same time, me with Ava and she with Tatum and Harrison, but I'm embarassed to say that I gained more weight than she did, and she had two!!!



Kandis usually ops for studio photos, but I don't have my studio equipment anymore, so we had our session in their backyard and I brought some shower curtains and clipped them to the fence to serve as my backdrop. Natural light and studio-like backdrops?? Yes please. Then in Photoshop, I added some texture to the background for fun.

What I love about Harrison is that he is not afraid to look straight at me. I always get great shots of him staring me down. I love it! Bring it on.







I love this next series. I actually could have added about five more to it because I got some really funny expressions, but we ended up with some good ones I think.

Harrison: Tatum, what in the world is Kristen doing trying to make us smile. She's crazy.

Tatum: I don't know Harrison, but I'm over it.


Harrison: Tatum, I'm kinda hungry, are you? I wonder when Mom's going to give us our Tootsie Roll treats.

Tatum: I don't know Harrison, but I think the sooner we smile, the sooner we'll get our Tootsie Rolls.


Harrison: Ok sis. LET'S DO THIS THANG!


We headed inside for a quick outfit change and a few shots in their rooms. I love the mural on Tatum's wall of the classic Citroen 2CV. My family actually had one of these when we lived in England, and someday I would love to own one. Ours was convertible, pale yellow, and Mom just had to have one because "it was so ugly that it was cute." I have great memories of riding around in it with the top down, and I'm pretty sure we have a picture of Joanne and I standing up in the back seat while we were stuck in a traffic jam of sheep.





Can you say 4 going on 14? Don't worry Kandis, Ava is doing the exact same thing. They are growing up too fast!


And finally, back outside for a last round of shots including a round of rocket balloons. Thanks guys, for a great session!