Geez – he’s growing up already!  Amazing!

I love a little man in a big-boy-golfing hat.

When you’re this cute…who needs a shirt anyway, right?

This time we snuck mommy & daddy in the shot too.

Alisa and CJ are close to my heart, they’re a part of my Wichita Falls family, and yes – they’re beautiful inside and out.

Love to all of ya!

~M

Hi Blog! I have had a number of different phone calls and e-mails concerning my “status” as of late, so I thought I’d do another “Just an FYI” blog for ya.

Me. Personally, I’m doing good. I kinda feel like I’m over that first initial “hump” of this transition. It’s “out there” and it’s official. The first round of big decisions is over and I’m feeling pretty good. Our house if up for sale with the Bishops and my business is closed. The kids are in school and I’m working from home and starting yet another “to do list” (cause you know how I love my lists) for all of the things I need to do during this transition.

Matt. Matt starts his job in Farmers Branch Monday, September 14th. Keep the prayers a-comin cause that will begin the true transition for our family as he’ll be in FB and the kids and I will be be here M-F. It’ll be ok though, we are a strong family and it is temporary. Military moms do it for a lot longer and under a lot harder circumstances than I will be in.

Work. You are seeing that I’m posting pix from some shoots. I am still shooting some, but these were all shoots that were booked prior to my decision to close my studio. They are coming to a fast and sudden halt after Labor Day, so if you call and I’m not booking you don’t feel like I’m picking and choosing. I am simply honoring previous bookings and Womb-2-1 obligations.

The Studio. Did ya notice? My sign came down yesterday. I’ll be honest with ya, it was weird. I drove by there today and it’s just…..gone. It put a little lump in my throat, but I also know it’s just another step in this whole process. Bev and Kelly are officially moved in, they have painted and are hanging their work in their new space and it looks great. Stop in and see them and support them, if you bring them Sonic they won’t ask you to sweep.

Classes. I’ll not be teaching any more “My Kids R Cuter Than Yours” classes following the Sept. 14th class (it’s full by the way) Kelly & Bev however will be teaching more classes, so contact them if you are interested in attending one! Info on the September 14th class will be coming your way soon for those of you who are attending.

What’s Next? HeeHee…I’m amazed at how many of you are asking what my next step is!  I love that! Honestly, I’m not sure!  My first and most immediate priority is to enjoy this weekend at home.  Next weekend we are BLESSED to go to Pinecove Family Camp again to focus on two things and two things only.  1. God  2. Our Family.  Then, the following weekend we will (gulp) get Matt settled into his apartment in Farmers Branch.  After that I’ll be focusing on narrowing in on our search for a school for the kids in FB so that when the house sells we are ready.  Then of course, throughout all of this I’m wrapping up business and focusing on my kids, my man and my friends.  

I do plan on taking some time off of work.  Not 100% stopping cause I don’t think I could if I tried, but, I do have some ideas floating around in the back of my brain about how I want to run my photography business in FB.  I’ll be honest, I’m getting excited for that opportunity to kinda hit “reset”.  So, I guess I don’t have a real answer to the question of “what’s next” except keep in touch as this adventure in life unfolds for our family!

All of my love.

~Micki

Seriously…..I wanted to take her home. Can one child be any cuter?!?!

When your eyes are beautiful in Black & White you know you are in trouble daddy….

I don’t know if it’s cause my babies aren’t babies anymore or not – but these next few pix pulled on my heartstrings.

Layne has this peace about her…it’s that quiet baby peace.
Ya know, the peace that comes from knowing mommy his here, big sis is here, and the lady behind the camera just about layed in that pile of dog poo (truth).
Maybe that peace comes from the yoga Layne started showing us…..ya never know with these babies!

We changed into outfit #2, but unfortunately the cement came up and knocked Layne in the noggin so we cut the shoot short, but not before big sis got to make it all better.

Sweetness.

Thanks Amy for trusting me one last time with your girls.
I’ll miss you and I’ll miss your family.
God Bless.
~M

Many of you know some of my favorite people…the Turnbos

Well they had 3 beautiful girls (cousins) come into town from Kansas

 
So we went to the park for a hot but fun photo-shoot.

Thanks again Shannon!
Pix to come soon!

~M

I hear these comments a lot…..

“I bet you have the most beautiful photos of your children!”
“Oooooooh – I bet you get great vacation photos!”
“I wish you could come on trips with me to just photograph it!”
“I’d love to see your family scrapbooks one day!”

All very sweet.
Unfortunately all completely off-track.

I used to photograph my kids a lot, until I got really busy and emmersed into the business, now….Deedra photographs them for me (sad but true)

Sometimes when we go on vacation I intentionally don’t pack my camera. One – I won’t check it so I have to drag it along on the plane and two, I’m on vacation….CPA’s don’t pack calculators, painters don’t pack brushes and this photographer doesn’t pack her camera.

Scrapbooking? Hummm…..talk to me in a year – I have 6 years of photos all stored on a disk and I fully intend to do something about them one day.

Here is what I DO find on my little pocket-point-and-shoot camera after vacations however… just incase you have been wondering…

God love my daughter.  :)

Gonna not gush all over her this time….just gonna post photos….

Carlee is beautiful, sweet, a bit of a stinker if she wants to eat and full of the spunk she’ll need later in life with 2 older brothers. She is the sprinkles on my icecream sundae of life right now. In a hard minute, hour or day I walk 2 doors down, get in a snuggle and all of my “stuff” just disappears.

Sorry – I’m gushing….MiMi Loves you sweet-girl.
~M

I sometimes envy the moms with the kids begging them to walk them into school.
The kids who want mom to stay for just “one more minute”.
The kids who want their mommies.

I’m so not that mom.

Here is the first day of school went at the Benoit home yesterday:

7:45am: Take the traditional photo on the first day of school, oh yeah, I’ll make them do this until they graduate High School.

7:50am: Start walking to school

7:53am: Get to a corner where we can see the school.
Garrett tells me I can go home now “We’ve got it from here mom” he says.
I deny his request.

7:55am: Get to the corner & cross-walk I usually drop them off.
Garrett tells me “Mom, really, see all of those little kids walking in with their moms? We’re big. Right sissy? We’re big, we can walk from here mom” and turns to cross the street.
I negotiate. Ok – you can walk in alone but I still get a kiss.
I get a kiss.
I watch my kids walk the cross-walk (G wipes off the kiss, Madie turns to give me a thumbs up)

I watch.

I watch my babies walk into school.

I keep watching…….

I’ve blocked out a day next week to get to these pix family….but here is a teaser for you – hate to say “I told ya so” but….when we were all worried about that 3:00 hard Colorado sun?!?!  This is why I grinned and said, Noooooooo worries!  ;)

More to come soon – promise!

~M

Many of you know that I’m from Kansas

Many of you know that I’m from a small town.

Many of you know that I have a kinda “what you see is what you get” kinda personality

Here is what many of you probably don’t know.

I’m from a place where everyone waves to everyone on the streets.  Gossip isn’t really tolerated because by the time it’s gossip everyone already knows it already, and if you see a car on the side of the road with a flat tire, you always stop to help.  I’m from a place that you can play in the band, the volleyball team, in the drama club and on the yearbook staff all in one year.  On Friday’s there is nothing to do but go to the football games and if there was something else to do you wouldn’t want to anyway.  Every fall there is a buzz in the air as the local store windows get painted week after week, posters get put in front yards and day after day, everyone in town wears red (yes – that’s why my “M” is red).

Growing up in Smith Center and graduating wtih the other 31 people in my class I learned to respect my elders because I knew my friends grandparents by name. I learned that if the cop doesn’t give you the speeding ticket it’s only because he called your parents instead (would have rather gotten the ticket btw) and I learned that in life there are consequences -both good and bad. I learned that when there is nothing to do on a Saturday night you make lifelong friends sittiing on the high dive and low dive at the pool…just talking. I learned what it feels like to be so cold your toes and fingers are numb, that 10 friends in a VW bug results in 2 flat tires and that gum doesn’t cover up Keystone light on your breath. Growing up in SC taught me to appreciate simple things, to simply be nice to those around you and to take tornado warning seriously. I can look back at my upbringing and see why I am who I am, good and bad – mostly stemming from my 18 years in a town of 2,000 people.

I’m not writing this to say “I’m all that” or I’m soooooo deep and insightful, I’m just saying that I’m proud.

In 2007 SC made national news when the HS graduating class finished their football season with 0 losses. They also broke a few national records that year and a guy from NewYork Times traveled to SC to do an article on the team and on the town (HeeHee – I would have loved to have seen his face as he got out of his car and stepped foot in my hometown where this is not a McDonalds, Starbucks or even a Walmart within a 90 miles). This man saw something in SC that we who are from there take for granted – and he wrote a book about it.

This morning he was on the Today Show and his book “Our Boys” was the Readers Digest book selection for September.

You can read an exerpt by clicking here: OUR BOYS 

Again – I’m excited for our future and where life is taking us, I’m grateful for where I am now, and I’m proud of where I come from.

Thanks for listening blog.

~M

This past weekend I had the HONOR of photographing family.  We traveled to Colorado for a wedding that was a true celebration.

Meet cousin-Justin

And meet his BEAUTIFUL bride Andrea

We all know that there is nothing better than seeing people you love in love, but seeing Justin as a man was wild to me, let alone seeing him as a man in love.  Justin was the ringbearer in Matt & my wedding – I think he will always be 9 in some weird part of my brain.  But this weekend…he blew me away with his gentle nature, his caring heart and his responsibilites.  Andrea?  OMG – don’t even get me started….I want her to be my new neighbor she was so utterly cool and fun and natural.

They were naturals infront of the camera – well….after Justin got over the “kissing infront of my cousin’s wife” thang.  ;)

……..but come to think about it…..he got over it pretty quickly!  :)

Sooooooooo – after shooting in their “favorite spot” at their “favorite park” TX-gal here had to get some Colorado mountains in the pix for myself…..I mean for them.  ;)

Justin & Andrea – we love you both – it was amazing to be able to witness your love from behind a camera.

Wedding pix to be posted soon & I’ll put your engagement pix CD in the mail tomorrow…but in the meantime – have an amazing time on your cruise, get a tan, sleep late and enjoy each other.  

God Bless.  ~M