Hello. Is it me you're looking for?

Sorry, bad blog title I know, but we saw Trolls this week and that was a line from the movie and it stuck.  You might not be looking for me around here, but I am! I have deeply missed this space.  The girls started pre-school again, way back in August.  We quickly fell into our normal school routine and as each week filled up and the next one stood waiting it felt as if someone took a globe (or our world itself) and gave it a good spin.  The kind of spin that gets you to almost December and you're smiling, but trying to catch your breath and wondering where all the time went. 

As I shared in my last post, my photography calendar has been full to the brim also this fall.  It wasn't a dream I was actively pounding the pavement for but instead has come about rather naturally. I have looked at Brett dozens of times and said "What a surprise! What a treat! What an honor!".  You really cannot even imagine the thrill I get from tenderly taking people and their stories and telling them well with photographs and film.  It isn't something I take lightly at all.  I am so very honored and astounded that I have had the privilege of spending time with so many of you and capturing your season of life.  I have some really fun ways I'd like to continue improving my photography and keeping my inspiration fresh over the Christmas break and then I'm excited to start booking spring shoots! 

I've also been asked several times if I'd teach a photography class and have plans to do so.  Please stay tuned! 

In the meantime, besides spending time taking photos and editing them, we have thoroughly enjoyed our Arkansas version of fall.  Here on the farm the trees get "so-so"....meaning pretty, but for a fairly short amount of time.  We are so lacking in rain this year which I assume makes a difference.  The girls and I have spent time in town around the square, where the maple trees are aplenty.  Certainly a feast for our eyes, indeed!  With it being so warm we have spent plenty of days outside, until that winter darkness shoves us back in for the night.  

I keep thinking and saying I should be reading, as I am typically an avid reader.  This year though, it's been mostly cookbooks or magazines or watching shows.  Yes, I too am a true and true Gilmore Girls fan.  Have you watched?  I can't say I have loved the new episodes near as much as I expected.  Anyway, we have enjoyed Anne of Green Gables on PBS, the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, and videos from the library.  

But back to the reading-what do you recommend for me? 

One of the reasons I've been reading cookbooks and recipes so much (besides the fact I just plain adore them) is that I've been working on some minor health issues and trying to heal through food, vitamins, and weekly visits to the chiropractor.  And you know what? So far, so good. Very, very good.  A little further down the road I'll share more, but for now I need to own this story as just my own.  

So many of you have kindly asked about our foster care journey, which will actually begin Monday, December 5th with our first meeting! We are going through The Call, which is a local organization/ministry that comes alongside families and helps them work with DCFS to become a certified foster family.  Our agency work on our adoption is closed, it doesn't transfer to any of our foster care journey.  So we are essentially starting at square one. 

I also plan to write more about this journey as well and shed some light on the misconceptions people have about foster care because there are many.  I will start by saying this, you can specify which age you are interested in and how many children at a time.  So if you're like we were and picturing a group of 5 teenagers coming to your house and you don't currently feel ready for that, that's actually not a good excuse to not help.  At least for us it wasn't.  I remember the day so clearly someone told me we could foster babies, and just one at a time if we wanted. 

An instant "Yes! I'm in" went off in my head. Every single one of my selfish excuses I'd been tossing around had light shed on them and I saw them as they were-mostly wrong and pretty silly. 

With that said, I'm not sure when we'll finish all of our training (it's 30 hours worth) but boy are we excited to have a baby in the house again! It will feel like a whole new world. 

Betsy had a birthday last weekend and turned FOUR! 

See? I told you, spinning world for sure.  I am so grateful for all this life buzzing around me.  My camera is the instrument in which I make it slow down, even if just a bit.  

Art, music I'm loving, Christmas decorations, Advent....

there is so much more to share with you my friends. 

For today though I've got one last sip of tea and then it's 

"see you later" 'till tomorrow!