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life right now

04.18.13

I took this shot yesterday afternoon with my phone while sitting on the couch. I know it will be one of my favorite pictures in the years and decades to come. It speaks so clearly of life right now.

Feeding the youngest.

Laundry piled on the unofficial laundry chair.

Oldest pulling younger siblings across the floor.

Wonder Woman tshirt and a bib.

Orchestrated chaos.

Loud laughs.

Bottle – only a bottle.

Chair by the tv because none of them are tall enough to reach the power button.

Littlest observing it all.

Everyone ending up in one room.

Together.

Some days I long for quiet, calm, order. I have a feeling one day I long for this chaos.

 

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Pamela - It is awesome. Such a “real life” picture.

Ashley E - Such a wonderful shot! Love how much fun your family has all together. :) On a side note–I saw a Wonder Woman Little People play item at Target yesterday and thought of your girls!

Laura@Ms Smartie Pants - As a mother of 4 grown children, I promise you that you will long for the chaos again, drink it in, take a big old full gulp of it now!

Katie M - LOVE this!

Stacey Thacker - The view from here is similar!

I love “laundry chair”…..

Candace - I need to do a better job enjoying the chaos in my own home, thank you for the reminder Ashley :)

Reesa Heilaman - As a mother of five grown children, I say “Embrace the chaos”!!! It is over way too fast and I miss it so terribly much. Being a grandparent is beyond description but you miss having them under your roof sharing every aspect of their journey! I love watching your family, Ashley, brings back so many memories of those crazy days and all that love gathered in one room! So glad you understand to enjoy them and to live each day to the fullest! Have fun, sister! Love you!

Sarah Karlsen - I hope you don’t mind me posting this here for you. It was sent to me when I had my fifth baby.

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Melissa - “And holding Little One’s hand watching it all”

Angie @ http://hayshousemisadventures.blogspot.com/ - Last night we had terrible storms in our area. The power was out and all four kids were lounging on mattresses in the den with no television. The teens were not holed up in another room in another part of the house. The littles were snuggled in close, not running around leaving tiny tornado disasters in their wake. All six of us together, in one room, the rain falling on our tin roof and it was perfection. Absolute perfection. I am not even sure that in the last 19 months, since my youngest child’s birth we have had such a moment! My heart was truly happy!! Those are the moments God intended for our families. I love this post!

Necole @seriouslysassymama - Looks like someone was looking through my window minus the baby. I love a little chaos. Yesterday though, we kept the TV off and my three girls sat on the floor in the living room and drew pictures while I folded laundry and cooked dinner. It was so peaceful I loved it. My girls verbalized that they could not believe how nice it was. After dinner back to the choas, which was not that bad since I had a margarita in my hand.

Tiffany - Oh, how I love this! My life right now consists of a 7 month old, 2, 4, & 7 year old. It is wonderfully chaotic. I constantly remind myself just what you said at the end because I know for a fact that I will crave this chaos one day. What a blessing to have a house full of lovely chaos!

maggie - I miss those days…with little ones running about~ on a funny note, I have a similar round vintage chair and it ALWAYS has piles of laundry…never ending pile, now with teenage laundry. :) love the post

Katie - this is the perfect visual description of ‘Home’ :)

Carrie - What a gift that you have to sit and can see this perspective as you feed your Little One. You echo my own sentiments and I am sure the hearts of many moms… that balance of nearly going crazy with it all now while knowing that some day it will be quiet and you will long for the crazy.

susie - same shot for me too! At least your house is clean… I can enjoy it when my house is clean. we went out of town last weekend and it took all week to get it back together somewhat and I can enjoy the kids a lot more!

bethblntn - As a nanny to four, these were the moments I lived for. As a now mother (and no longer a nanny), these are the moments I long for and hope to make. This is why i just smile when people call me crazy for wanting such a large family. What a gift God has given you. <3

celia - Your last sentence is my favorite….

Susan - As a 50-something who is finally an empty-nester after 29 years of active mothering, I agree with Celia. That last sentence is very, very true.

nancy - Laudry in a chair waiting to be tended to? I have NO IDEA what you are referring to! None!
nancy

drea - Precious. I have 4 kids, 2 girls, 2 boys. This year, for the first time, I had only boys ay home. After dropping my 2nd daughter off for her first day of kindergarten, I came home and gave my boys a snack…I noticed how quiet it was and went to my room and bawled my eyes out. I realized that my daughter’s incessant chatter that drove me crazy was the very thing I missed that morning. Good reminder to appreciate these crazy times!

Sellersatlast - I love pictures like this that show “real” life. Just wished my photo looked as beautiful!

Marie-Eve - L O V E it!
:)
ox-

Nuria - I´m sure you will! Looks like a wonderful chaos :)

Kimberlee Jost - I love it!
So much blessing in this one shot.
:)

Deb - Thanks for a wonderful “pick-me-up!” I remember those days with five children all about the same age and me having the same observation. I would blow this pict up and frame it. Rarely do we catch life as it is happening except through serendipitous shots like this one. You have captured the beauty of family life. Kudos on a job well done. And, by the way, cherish moments like these. Our children grow up too fast. Mine are now all grown. Whew! Where did the time fly? Take Care!

kelleyn - That is what they tell me, but I am in your boat. I think quiet is probably overrated.

Raimie @ Joyfinders Path - Dear Ashley,
Beautiful! I need to remember how blessed I am to be a big part of this kind of daily chaos. The three-ring circus gets loud but it’s only going to last so long!

Love,
Life is a Limited Edition in NE

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Today was a day I very much longed for some quiet, but you are sooo right – I will long for the craziness one day.

Mel - RE little one’s feeding. You hold little one close to you as you feed her her bottle.
Just a suggestion (which you have probably tried) have you tired holding her the same way when you try to give her food to try? Even if it is just what you would normally put in her bottle but on a spoon. Also give her a spoon to hold at the same time.

Good luck. You are an amazing woman.

tara - I think you’re right…I think we’ll all long for the chaos we’re in right now in a few more years.

elizabeth H - somehow a picture can instantly transform “the beautiful mess” all about me into a moment you want to remember forever.
xoxo

Kimberly Dial - Ashley, yes, I promise you that one day you will long for these days. My sons are grown and if I allowed myself I could wallow in the memories of days gone by. Occasionally I still run across a hot wheel that I find buried while digging in the flowerbeds and it makes me smile and tear up at the same time (I always wash them off and display them on a shelf :) The good news is that there are different days to come in your role as a grandmother – years away I know – and believe me, it’s a wonderful thing and there is much more time to relax. I can only imagine that with five children they’ll be lots of grandbabies to fill up your home with loads of laughter in the years to come!

jennycain - I just got done reading through this blog post, and then found this in my Craftzine feeds.

How to make superhero cuffs! Made me think of you and your “Wondergirls”.
http://blog.makezine.com/craft/superhero-cuffs-from-toilet-paper-rolls/

Tracy a - This is one of my favourite posts!

Sarah Chen Lin - Just wanted to express how much I admire you for the strong and caring woman that you are. I wished the world was filled with more people like you. Never falter, never doubt yourself, and keep your head high no matter where life takes you =]

Courtney - I love how much of your life you’ve captured in this one shot. It’s so easy to gloss over these details because we see them every day. But this is a book’s worth of memories right here in one photo.

Cristina - Reading all your posts and looking at all your pictures makes me want to have 5 children as well!! Where do you get the energy?
I love your style btw!

building a coop with my dad

04.17.13

He’s the guardian of the flock.

Is it a flock of chickens? Probably not. I’ll google that right now. Oh hey, it is a flock. Or a brood of hens (but I think we might have a rooster). Or if they are still considered chicks, it is a clutch of chicks. Whatever they are called, he is their guardian. He recently figured out how to scale up the sycamore. He can now perch up there and keep an eye out for predators.

Speaking of predators, our chickens need to move on outside. Our girls are kind of like dinner on a plate out in our open field. We looked into so many coop options. The tractor versions (coops that move around your yard) perked our interest, but based on our lifestyle and location we are going with a more permanent coop. I’ve been reading a bunch on coop locations, gardens, zone for free ranging and free ranging in general. Our girls are outside a lot right now. They just kind of roam around wherever we are playing. I thought they’d try to fly or run away, but nope they just hang out in a flock with us.

Friday morning the coop just had a concrete stem wall.

My dad and I spent Friday building the main walls and getting the frame up. My dad has let me build alongside him since I was a little girl. He is always introducing me to new tools. My favorite this round was one that used bullets to shoot into the concrete. It was loud, fun and a great stress reliever.

Our stopping point on Friday. I’m not sure why we didn’t take off our safety goggles before taking a picture!

****

Saturday, we built the roof trusses. It was my first time to build a truss, but not my last. I’m sure I’ll need to make more one day…for something. Saturday also had soccer games, a birthday hike and a photography workshop so we didn’t do much. Sunday, however, we were back at it.

I really enjoy building. It is a restful for me, which doesn’t make sense to some. It is a break from the normal routine of kids and laundry and picking up a million times a day. Chris got extra time with the kids and I got to build. Win, win. The kids were around watching…these two spent a little time in the shade snuggling.

The coop needed 6 holes for ventilation. My dad cut the first three perfectly. I wanted him to cut all 6 so they’d all be perfect. I am totally comfortable with saws, but not curved lines. I just always seem to struggle to get the curves perfect. Dad made me do it anyway. They were wonky and will drive me crazy. Thankfully they are on the east side where no one will really see them. I do appreciate that my dad makes me do stuff that I know I can’t do perfectly, and be okay with those imperfections. I find myself pushing my oldest all the time to do the same…to try even if he can’t do it perfectly. It is easier to be the parent in this lesson than the kid!

So the weekend ended and dad wanted a picture of me in front of the coop.

I am pretty proud of this project. There is no way I could have built it without my dad, but I am grateful he let me do all the work alongside him. The great thing about building with my dad is that now I feel like I could actually do this on my own. The reality is I need him. It is really empowering not just to build, but to learn from my dad so I can similar things with more confidence. I hope I can parent my kids in ways like my parents still parent me.

We have a lot left to do, but we are getting closer. The coop is huge because we are planning for the future. I’d love to let our hens hatch a few chicks and let the kids see that process. We made a lot of progress and I am looking forward to getting this thing finished and those crazy chickens outside!

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RachelC - Wow, friend!!! That coop is so cool! I love that you and your Dad always build together. It just enhances the end product….not just a super fabulous chicken coop — but lifelong memories. You rock!

Ellie - Random question, I know, but are you going to keep the rooster? We have chickens in the city so we can’t have a rooster and had to give ours away (to friends in the country). But was just wondering. I know there are good reasons to have one and not to have one…

bonnie - the coop looks great. i totally get it when you say that building is relaxing. it is a nice break from the norm and it gives you a sense of seeing something being accomplished. it just feels good to use your hands to make something. i love the relationship you have with your parents. your kids will learn so much just from watching your relationship with them. i cant wait to see the finished project.

Necole @seriouslysassymama - I love all the different ideas for coops. My parents neighbors have one with one wood wall, then chicken coop wire that surrounds the other 3. They built specific places or the chickens. It is really cute. You need to paint it a fun color, or a colorful stain.

Kari - “Our girls are kind of like dinner on a plate out in our open field.”

I read this three times before it finally hit me that you were talking about your chickens and not your daughters! I’m off to get more coffee.

Jenny B. - Terrific! The coop looks great, but more importantly, I love that you built it with your dad. The picture of you sawing the vent holes made me think of Proverbs 31:17 “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” :) And, the whole story made me think of an article I just read last night about building our family narrative. It was a good read. Here’s the URL if you’re interested. :)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Berlyn - Aww! This is so sweet! My family has been raising chickens for years, only once did a hen lay and hatch eggs on her own, but it was an amazing thing to witness! Some of my favorite memories of growing up involve our chickens. We once had 4/5 chickens who would fly up a tree (not too high off the ground) and roost every night, but one of the roosters was too large to fly that high, so he just slept on a rocking chair on our porch! Oh the chicken stories I could tell.. haha. Your family is going to have so much fun!! :)

Sellersatlast - That is so awesome your Dad, and Grandfather are such amazing builders! I would love to be able to see a project and know I could complete it! My Dad does a lot of other things really well, but building is not one of them :)

mandi@hebanhomestead - oh man, I love this! My dad and I are very close and we share similar interests too. Probably because he let me garden and cook alongside him my whole life. Your coop is looking great! And trust me, it’s always better to go too big than too small. Our tractor is too small. So we have to add on or start all over. Sigh…

Juli - I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again…you are blessed, BLESSED I tell ya! It is amazing to see someone so loved by her whole family.

Alice H - I have said this before but I am going to say it again…your family is so amazing! So full of crafty, DIY people! You each offer something different but still so similar. Again, amazing talents you all have!

Also, I said this on your IG pic…NICE BICEPS!! And look at how tan you are getting too!!

Monica - It is so cool! Almost finish. I would love to live kind in a country side to have more open space to do things like that. My housband love to garden, but I think we need more space for that too. I never loose my hope that one day we will have that. Thank you for sharing. And congratulations . It is excited to see your project from the start to the end. :) Have a great day!

Paige - Love it! Our girls used to follow us all around the yard. The kids would run and the girls would follow! We lost them last year to our dog that played too rough with them. He never bothered them before other than bark at them. I cried. Stupid I know, but those were my babies! Anyway, remember to give them egg shells. My girls LOVED egg shells with yogurt. A special treat for them each week!

Laura@Ms Smartie Pants - Beautiful work! As you explained your relationship with your dad as your worked on this project it reminded me of our relationship with Christ…. “The great thing about building with my dad is that now I feel like I could actually do this on my own. The reality is I need him.” Love the pic of the guardian too!

Robin C. - nice little sunburn/tan you got too.

Regan - That first picture is amazing!

How special to do this with your father. A beautiful memory.

My friend in Texas has chickens and was not greatly prepered for the heat of summer. I know you said you ave been reading a lot about it. Frozen berries, frozen melon, sprinklers really helped her and her chickens.

Amy - Curious- we’re about to move further out to the country & I expressed a desire to have chickens once we’re there. My husband said no bc they’ll attract snakes. So we plan to have guineas instead. How do you keep the snakes away? Or is that not an issue?

Sharon @ Discovering Blog - There is so much awesomeness in this post! The example your father sets for you, the example you set for your kids, the fact that you are building a coop from scratch, your comfort with power tools – so much awesomeness!

Annbee - Wow! Loving the coop thus far! Definitely looks a lot cooler than ours. :) This spring we’re going to do up some chicken tractors for meat birds and seeing all your hard work on your coop is definitely inspiring me to get out there and start already!!

Sarah - The coop looks great!! I grew up on a chicken farm and our coop wasn’t quite as fancy, but more industrial. You guys did a great job.

Debbie C - So so impressed…by that beautiful coop, your family’s mad building skills, and your toned upper arms. :) Also, I can’t believe the chickens are so big already! Wow they grow fast. Looking forward to seeing the finished coop.

Oh Lardy - Oh!!! I love this. Your coop is going to be amazing! I can’t wait to see the finished product. I am actually writing a Practical Guide to Chicken Keeping on my website, so check it out for some info that you might not know yet.

http://ohlardy.com/a-practical-guide-to-keeping-chickens-chicken-101

Raimie @ Joyfinders Path - Dear Ashley Ann,
Fabulous glasses! ;) It is probably like when I forget I’m still in my painting clothes when someone snaps a picture and never notice until I see it later and am thinking, What was I wearing!?

Your dad is so great to share his skills. My dad is a carpenter and when I was a little girl I used to tell him I was going to be one too when I grew up. I took great pride in calling us ‘Keough and Daughter’. And while I’ve never taken up the trade for more than very small tasks around our own home, I still love the thrill of creating on that level. The best gift my husband ever bought me (besides my DSLR) was a nice jigsaw.

The coop is wonderful!
So happy for your family to be able to try this new chicken-keeping role. Great memories being made.

Love,
Raimie Lu

Ruth Abel - I love watching your flock grow! I can’t wait till we get a yard with enough space for some chickens of our own! Saw this funny little bit of whimsy and thought of you :)

http://pinterest.com/pin/34128909648887475/

Jacci in Ohio - WOW. That is a coop!

:)

I love, love, love that you live around so much of your family. That your dad is game to build this… and that he’s still looking out to teach you a thing or two ;) That’s all GOOD stuff!

Jane - Precious memories! I loved doing anything with my dad. Feeding cows or walking through the woods. He died unexpectedly in December and I miss the little things. Especially his advice and wisdom. I have gotten many of his tools and gadgets and have been building on my own. You will be able to reflect fondly on these memories with him…..

Susan - #2 slays me! He is adorable! May God continually bless him and all of yours with this awesome curiosity they seem to have!
Susan

Shan - I lost my Dad 3 yrs ago. Its nice to see someone still being able to enjoy their Dad. It fills my soul :)

meg duerksen - gun show!
girl you are ripped!
:)
i miss you.
and your kids.
and you.
happy coop making.

Lisa - My favorite thing is building things with my dad as well! And I was introduced to the concrete gun when we built my shed together last year – SUPER fun!! I am thinking up new projects so I can use it again! It is such a blessing to have a dad that is handy and enjoys the experience of creating with his daughter, even if he could do it faster himself. My dad says I’m his favorite project partner because I always know exactly what I want and we just make it happen. :-) Love how the coop is coming.

Amber Campbell Hibbs - The coop is fabulous. Maybe I missed it because I haven’t been able to read your blog for a while, but are you using a plan from somewhere or did you/your dad design it. I ask because I’m supposed to design one for Meg and I’m not getting it done as quickly as I would like. Yours looks like it might be in line with what she is wanting.

Ria - You are going to love having chickens! Our ladies are like family. And the fresh eggs….yummy.

Lex - He’s a regular, real-life Huck Finn! Too cute!

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - I love this! Love. Your daddy reminds me of mine… but I was not as good of a listener… thankfully he still lets me help.

Dana - Ashley….I adore this post. Love reading about fathers/daughters….oh my heart! Your pictures are precious, as always.

Izabela - It looks amazing. My husband is building a chicken coop right now to make it look like a barn. He’s made some great progress. I will have him check out your post because I’m sure he’ll find it interesting. I love your bonding time with your dad.

Melissa - That coop is going to be amazing! You are so lucky to have such a great dad – growing up that was always work for the “boys” aka my brothers. So wish I had some skills now.

Ryan - Chicken coop or guest house? You be the judge. :)

I love it! It looks great. You’re going to make some foxes and coyotes very unhappy with that super fancy, buried wall you’ve put in.

Jenn Hays - Your coop is going to be amazing! I can’t wait to see the finished product! I LOVE the picture of your son in the tree watching over the chicks.

Earth laughs in flowers

04.16.13

This weekend was nuts. My dad and I made major progress on the coop. We had 2 soccer games. We took a bunch of little boys hiking for my son’s 7th birthday. And we hosted my friend Shannon’s photography workshop. Part of the workshop was a practice shoot of a bride and groom. Shannon was sweet enough to leave the bouquet behind for me to enjoy. She had no idea, but my two very favorite flowers were in the bouquet: peonies and ranunculus.

My oldest daughter has been just as enamored with the flowers as I have been. Yesterday morning she came down stairs after dressing herself in yellow & pink. She asked me to take pictures of her with the flowers because they ‘matched’. This is the part of having a little girl that still baffles me. With each new day she does stuff that is such a far cry from her brothers. Never. Not once. Never have any of the three boys ran upstairs to put on clothes that matched flowers and asked me to take pictures of them. If they had done that, it would have been because there was some kind of ulterior motivation. She is such a beautiful combination of tough tomboy and total girly girl.

Naturally, I grabbed my camera, my 85mm lens and happily headed out back with my girl.

After a few ‘sweet’ photos, her true colors came shining through. Firecracker.

As I loaded these on my computer and looked at each one I couldn’t help but think about her wedding day. Pretty sure it will be necessary for her to pose like this on that day for me.

The flowers got really heavy for her, probably weighed as much as she does. So we tried something else.


“Earth laughs in flowers.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What a beautiful word picture. What a lovely way to think of flowers….laughter springing forth from the earth.

My daughter sees that, she delights in laughter and beauty. She teaches me to slow down and do the same.

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Michelle H. - Firecracker & Flowers ~ beautiful.

Mary - What a lovely mix of sugar and spice.

cindy from new york - I couldn’t stop smiling….Firecracker is beautiful no matter what. Thank you for such sweet sharing :)

Terry of Owasso - These are so precious, and I hope you get to take the poses of her on her wedding day too!!!

Angela A - My 4 year old daughter saw these and LOVES them. I think she wants to come play.

Jenny L. - My daughter loved flowers from a very early age. We used to stop on the side of the road when we saw wildflowers so she could run through them. She is all grown up now and is a florist and a wedding planner. She just recently planed her own wedding and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed that day. It is the best watching your child get married. Hopefully, time won’t go too fast before both of your lovely girls are grown and married, but I know that you are getting the most you can and giving all you have while they are little. Love your sweet family!

Pamela - lovely!

Danielle - Beautiful. Of course I see this right when I was starting to be okay with not having a girl.

ashlee - beautiful words and stunning flowers!

ranee - such a sweet post..she reminds me so much of my own sweet tess…little girls are so much fun!

Patti - Too cute and sweet that she thought it was important to take photos.

Shannon Phillips - Oh friend! This just makes my heart so very happy. My intent was for you to enjoy the beauty of these flowers after such a crazy weekend. I had no idea that Firecracker would be full of such delight over them. Gosh I love her and of course you so so much!
BTW, I did know that peonies were among your favorites. ;)

Cynthia - On the day she has bridal portraits taken, please oh please, copy some of these same poses. They will be wonderful framed side by side. These are precious.

Lori - Those flowers are beautiful! Firecracker sure does match perfectly perfect with them. Sweet girl. My girl is a nice blend of tomboy and girly girl also. I love it!!

angie - Those flowers are amazing! And yes, she must have these photos reinacted on her wedding day!

jenny - Oh, i love that Emerson quote!!!
And of course, I love your photos-always so great :)

Necole @seriouslysassymama - Those flowers are beautiful. When I saw them on Instagram, it provoked me to buy some flowers for the house which I am doing tomorrow after brunch with some friends. The restaurant is next to one of my fav places to get flowers. Central Market. I cannot wait to see all the colors. I have three daughters, and I cannot wait to see how they grow up. Your firecracker is like my blond bomber.

Jess - thank you for the literal lol :)

Staci - Oh beautiful!! My 2 year old put on a wedding veil the other day and I could instantly feel the future creeping up on me… I’m sure a bouquet would have the same effect. Beautiful daughter, flowers, and images!

aimee bee - Beautiful! Your daughter is adorable. I love the quote too. Thanks for the encouragement. :)

Laura - What a stunning bouquet! I agree, peonies and ranunculus are the bees knees. And your daughter is just a delight – so much joy :)

Paige - Ashley, these are the reasons I come visit your blog:
1. You remind me to enjoy my children and to love them just as they are, quirks and all.
2. You are one amazing mommy doing her best and I feel good about myself doing the same when reading this blog.
3. You remind me that our kids love us and time with us, it’s just not about stuff.
4. You encourage me to get out there with my kids and play swords with sticks, swing as high as we can and enjoy Gods gift of nature.
5. A picture can be beautiful and meaningful no matter what kind of camera is used, whether or not my boys are smiling, playing, or almost out of the frame in a fun, active blur.
6. You help me remember that clothes are just clothes, hair is just hair, moods are just moods, jobs are just jobs, but love and family are everything.
Thank you for sharing your life with me.
Paige

Jeanette - Beautiful pictures and beautiful words! Thanks for sharing :)

Abby - Such beautiful colors! Peonies and ranunculus are two of my favorite flowers too–my wedding bouquet was made up of white ranunculus. Love that Firecracker–sugar and spice for sure!

Renee - Beautiful! I happened upon your blog today via your homeschooling blog poat. It spoke to me. We are starting to homeschool this summer/fall. I’m a public school teacher so I’m conflicted with sharing our reasons. I love the way you phrasef it. I have said something similar. Our children have unique needs and sometimes words can’t truly explain why. Then I see your zoo photos and loved them. Thought – gosh she should be a real phoyographer, only to realize YOU ARE!

Then I ventured to this page… And it warmed my heart. As a mom of 3 boys… I love it!

ellen patton - I love these photos!

Sarah - What a great post and great pictures! My two favorite flowers as well.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger - Pure delight.
In her eyes,
and for us, through
your reflections and images.
Thank you.

bethblntn - I LOOOOVE these flowers, and the photos to. You are so gifted. Do you know what the rest of the flowers are in this. I would love to add them to my garden. <3

Ingrid - love the photo of her jumping right over the flowers :)

hannah elise - this is beautiful.

giozi - Beautiful bouquet and photos. Love her smile, she is so cute.

jo - ohhhh, that bouquet is so beautiful. Peonies & Ranunculus are my 2 absolute favourite flowers too :)

jackie - she is sooooo beautiful. looks just like her mama!!

Winnie Heng - love this post! cant stop smilling reading it and it definitely helped to brighten the gloomy morning over here. ;)

Heather - These are just beautiful! With four boys I have not a clue what it would be like for mine to actually want their pictures made :) Your blog makes me happy :)

Lisa - Peonies and ranunculus–my two favorite also! What a gorgeous bouquet! You were very generous to share it.

tami - She is so adorable. I like your photos cause they capture people being simple themselves! Inspire me to have my camera out more! Take care!

Jack - Beautiful quote. Beautiful flowers. Beautiful girl.

I Love Gifting - Your daughter is gorgeous and these pics…so beautiful. You’re a super photographer.

jules - Gorgeous – as always. I was also thinking WEDDING DAY REVISIT when you posted them. How special will that be – Firecracker in all her glory, “then and now”.

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - Oh my goodness she is so darn cute! And that bouquet is seriously the most beautiful one I have ever seen. Im drooling here!

AshleyAnn - Paige – Thank you so much for that encouragement!!

Rita - amazing photo shoot. I cannot believe how your daughter’s outfit and flowers blend in together – that’s pretty impressive that she demanded a pic with matching skirt-haha…precious.

Jacci - Oh my. She is a pistol. Love all of these!

And she looks so much like your middle boy here to me. Beautiful children!

Shannon - Love it. I couldn’t wait to see these photos. My daughter is the same. She has two older brothers and is a wonderful mix of crazy tomboy and sweet girly girl. Just amazing.

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - That bouquet is absolutely stunning… and Firecracker makes it all better.
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