In-Home Photo Session. Newborn. Family. Siblings.

Here are pictures of Amanda and her boys. When we took these photos, Mack was seven days old.

I don't specialize in newborn or family portraits, so for me, this was really working outside of my comfort zone. However, I'd do anything for Amanda. I'm so happy with the way the portraits turned out.

Amada watches my girls, while I work. She is taking several weeks off, so she can have some quality time with all of her boys. Her husband, works full-time and is going to college full-time, so he couldn't join us for the photo session.

I don't anticipate taking a lot of family portraits, but it was a lot of fun.

Slumber Party

Last night, Chey and I had a slumber party in the guest room.
We stayed up until 10 pm talking about hair, dolls, and friends. She was so excited about staying up late and playing. She was giggling and so much fun to be around.

There's a New HVAC Co. in town

Twin Temp Services LLC

Trey is taking his van to the shop soon, to get the wrap done.


Work shirts. Things are looking official around here.

My Week in Photos

Trey got off of work early…he's the boss man now, so I guess he can do stuff like that. He surprised Chey and picked her up early from childcare. He took her to see Lego the movie. She called me at work to tell me how excited she was.

Since Amanda had her baby, last week….
(The kids at the hospital trying to get a peak of Mack…)

My friend Rosa is watching the girls, while I work. She made them homemade tortillas, so obviously my girls love her. Also, new toys to play with…who wouldn't love it?
 
This is how we spent our Super Bowl Sunday.

We baked cupcakes. We got all pinterest fancy (not) and used the box.

I let Chey do most of the mixing. They were delicious.

Trey eating donuts and doing what he does.

According to buzzfeed, if I was a dog, I'd be a pit bull. Ok….

Trey & I Were Invited to Employee Appreciation Night @Cowboys Stadium AKA AT&T Stadium

Chris and his family invited us to join them at Cowboys Stadium for employee appreciation night.
We were so excited to be there!!!! This was our group!

The field was open for people to walk around and play games. The guys spent a few minutes on the field tossing the ball around before it got too crowded. I'm sure Trey felt like an NFL player, there for a hot minute.

We had one whole side of the stadium to wander about...

We even got an impromptu tour. This is the press area, where the coaches and players talk to the media after the game.

The guys couldn't resist…

Once we were done with that we enjoyed the free food and sat on the 50 yard line and watched Man of Steel. It was a wonderful night!

Dance. Dance. And For Me, Ultra Running is Mostly Mental.

Chey showing me a my little pony dance she learned. Chey jumping and giggling at the ends cracks me up.

And then we were trying to get Dakota to join in.

In other news
I just realized the Cowtown Ultra Marathon is 3 weekends away!
I feel pretty good about my training, I've been consistently running every week for months now (sure I've missed a few long runs here and there, but over all I've been consistent) and I've had some great long runs the past  few weeks…. ---- for me, the majority of an ultra is mental. It's having a no quit attitude and pushing through, when your mind is telling you to stop. Having a good baseline of training with lots of miles also helps! I don't want to dismiss that.
Here's my training from last week.

Birth Photography - This Was AMAZING to Witness!

My friend Amanda invited me to document the birth of her third son, Elijah Mack. This happened Saturday. Actually, her water broke, Friday night - while she was watching my girls. She called and said, Drew is staying at home with the girls and I'm driving myself to the hospital. She didn't think it was anything, actually she wasn't even sure her water broke. Hours after I got my girls, Amanda was admitted in the hospital. The next day around 1 pm, I made my way to the hospital and sometime around 3, she gave birth to Mack.

I was excited to be part of such a special day. That's Drew, her husband.

Trey tagged along for an hour just to say hi and…

To pick on her #longhorns

Amanda's taking 1.5 months off for maternity-leave, but she plans on continuing to watch the girls after her time off. Chey and Dakota are going to miss her, I'm going to miss her!

Saturday, around 2 pm I went home and shortly after I got settled, Amanda texted me and said IT's TIME! SPEED WOMAN!
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I walked in right before the doctor walked in the labor and delivery room, I had maybe 5 minutes to spare, before Amanda started pushing!

This was the first moment, she held Elijah Mack. They call him by his middle name, Mack. This was such an incredible moment!

I love this image of the nurse holding his cap up to the warmer before placing it on his head.

Mack was delivered about 4 weeks early. At birth, he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz
tiny, but pretty healthy.

Skin to Skin with momma, probably the most amazing feeling - if you have ever done this, it is honestly an incredible bonding moment. You have to experience it! Newborn baby skin is the best.

One Day We Will Grow-Up

Having kids is a great excuse to do silly things like play at Pump it Up.
These are photos from William's party, last weekend.

One of these days, we'll grow-up, but no promises. Trey raced our neighbor through an obstacle course. Guess who won?

Trey lost twice, but he still managed to have a great time.
My stomach dropped when I went down this slide.

What are your plans this weekend? 
-We have a fun night scheduled at AT&T Stadium.
- I plan on running long, at some point, probably before Sunday - since we may get snow. Two weekends ago, I ran 19 miles. Last week, I took a mini long-run vacation, but this week, I'd like to get back to it.
- Church
- Super Bowl !!!!!! I predict Denver will win. 
- Maybe trying a new recipe

Big Sister

Last night, I walked into the bathroom and this is what I saw.

Chey was helping Dakota brush her teeth and Dakota was letting her. What a sweet moment. 
P.S. today is Trey's last day at work! Tomorrow is a new chapter.

My First Attempt at a Paleo Pot Recipe

I have a crockpot. I use it often, but it's mainly for making one recipe. It's really not even a recipe, so I'm not sure why I'm calling it that...it's just pinto beans. Add water. Add dry beans. Boom, dinner! I'd like to use my crockpot more often and add some variety. Monday, was my first stab at trying a paleo pot recipe.

This is what I made, Stuffed Pork Chops with bacon, green apples, and pecans. I can't believe this golden recipe has been sitting in my Pinterest for over a year.

I never grabbed a photo of the end result
1. Because crockpot photos never really look appetizing. Am I right?
2. Because it was too yummy for me to stop and take a snapshot.

The stuffing is the bomb.com. I would make this recipe again and again, the only thing I'd change is, I would probably add a little bit of water and add an extra onion or two. Here is the full recipe from Paleopot.com.

Dakota loved the meat.
Chey ate it, but I could tell it wasn't her favorite.
Trey wasn't at home, if he was home I'm 100% positive he wouldn't have even tried it.

This Happened, Today & Complicated Childcare

Last night, Trey helped me frame the latest composite work for UTA Nursing. This is outside contract work, that I do twice a year. The Off-campus (online) students heard about this service and they've requested that I provide photography for them as well. There are over 100 off-campus students in this upcoming May cohort and about half of them live in the DFW area. Not all of them will participate in the composite, but it is an option for them. This is pretty exciting and I'm so glad I can offer this service to them as well.

It looks like my business is expanding. On that note, childcare is getting more complicated. Especially with Amanda due with baby number 3. She has about 4 weeks left, but she's has a reputation of delivering early, so really she's due any day now. I have upcoming weddings that I will record, so I have to find childcare on Saturdays and Sundays when those are scheduled. I have a friend who said she will watch the girls while Amanda is on maternity leave and then another who said to call her, if I need back-up. Now, to figure out everything in between, like working weekends.

I have been looking into non-traditional childcare centers. There are a few places that offer drop-in childcare. I'm really considering a place like that, when my childcare girls are not available.

Weekend Fun ABCDE

This weekend, we went to Abilene to celebrate Trey's 31st birthday and also to met our niece. Meet Elli.

Just what our family needs, more girls!  Now, Mom has ABCDE.
A - Angelica
B - Bella
C - Cheyenne
D - Dakota
E - Elli

Dakota is having another eczema breakout. I have a few family members who sell Doterra. I bought Lavender Oil, so I'm using that mixed with coconut oil to treat her skin. Hoepefully, it will help.

This was from last Wednesday - but I wanted to include it. Chey made cards for her teachers for --- Awana Teacher Appreciation Night.

Have you been to Pump it Up? We were invited to a birthday party and we had a blast! Oh, and so did the kids. I might look into this next for Dakota's or Chey's next birthday.

New Toy. Looking Forward to This. & A Dose of Sweetness.

One of the greatest challenges I face, when filming handheld with my DSLR is stabilization and rolling the focus. I hope this new piece of equipment helps. If not, then there goes $300.

This girl has the green light to go to The NABShow in Las Vegas. I can't wait to get my hands on some gear! Especially, now that I have my own business and I still plan on investing in more products. Vendors have gear displayed like this (see pic below), so you can test everything! It's a wonderful experience and I can't wait!!!!!! I'll be attending the Post Production World Conference at the NABShow.

It's been a while since you've seen a photo of Dakota. Here's your dose of sweetness. By the way, that's my favorite shirt. I need it in my size. Have a great weekend!

Major Changes - I'm Not the Only Entrepreneur in The Family

Next month, Trey will be working for a new company. It's his own business. This has been a 10 (plus) year journey. However, for the past year, he has been making huge steps to make this a reality, by taking exams, getting his LLC and more.

Looks like this is really happening! We are excited! I'm so proud of him.
This is going to be an adventure.