…when it kind of looks like summer. But I know so many of you love fall when it gets chilly and rainy. At any rate, fall is here to stay, and this little yellow leaf is a sign of things to come.

Tara is one of those few kindred spirit people I know. I always feel like we could spend hours talking about life, though we never really do due to different schedules and four little people between the two of us. If I was to guess, I’d say a lot of people feel this way about Tara—she’s just a genuinely wonderful gal.

Suffice to say I was thrilled to get to photograph the Mackrills this year. Ava, Olivia and Rowan are such a fun and diverse group of kiddos, I knew I’d end up with great shots of them! What I didn’t know was how often I’d smile and laugh while editing this shoot. Enjoy!

I’m going through a few photos, sifting and editing images from July for my sister-in-law Chelsea. We had a great visit with her and Roots, her fiance, and my nephew, who was neatly housed in Chelsea’s pregnant tummy at the time.

It’s kind of crazy how fast life changes, isn’t it? We had no idea that Baby Tafari would make his entrance into the world in August and not in October. Certainly Chelsea and Roots had no idea of the intimacy they’d soon develop with a Phoenix hospital, and for sure none of us back here had any idea of how many times we’d be petitioning God for a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

I love that I got a few shots of Chels and Roots prior to Tafari’s arrival. And I love that God heard our prayers and protected both mom and baby in recent months. From what I hear, little Tafari is now tipping the scales at over 4lb and he’s doing better all the time. It’s remarkable how well he’s doing—we are so grateful! I can’t wait to snuggle him in person.

This morning I took a friend’s son to school while his mom and big sister attended an orthodontist’s appointment. I hadn’t spent time with this kiddo at all recently and I marveled at how much he’s matured in the last year. Only in third grade, he’s already sounding so smart and knowledgeable—and both Livia and I enjoyed having him with us in the normally hairy before-school hours. Turns out he was just the motivation we needed to look like cool, calm, collected normal people this morning.

In the hustle and bustle of life—of school and work and extracurricular activities and foster care training and, oh yeah, trying to sell a house—I wonder if I’ve forgotten something very important: my friends’ kids.

I was once a part of a group of women that got it right. They loved each other’s kids incredibly. By example they showed me how to love someone else’s children. We had a long-running Bible study/accountability group; it lasted for almost a decade. If you walked into a room of these ladies, they’d always reach for your baby. And what an amazing blessing that was to me, to have someone who would love my child when I was really tired of dealing with teething and drool and poop, etc. Because we studied the bible and held each other accountable to God’s call in our lives (or at least we tried to), we knew each other really well. Which meant we knew each other’s kids well. Talk to a mom and you’ll eventually learn about her children! I was the godmother to one friend’s children and, in pre-Liv days, bought a pack-n-play just so another friend’s babies could sleep or nap over at my house. We celebrated each birthday with excitement. We threw each other baby showers when a new arrival was expected. Or, in my case, they threw me a baby shower once we had adopted and brought Livia home. I could go on and on, but the point remains that these gals taught me how to care for each other’s children.

Life does get to moving at a fast pace—that’s not just an excuse. I live in different circles from many friends these days; I have an elementary school kid while they still have little ones at home. Still, I think it just means we have to work harder to make time for one another, to make time to get to know each other’s kids. Maybe it requires a bit more creativity, a little less “me time” and a little more reaching out.

Older folks say these growing up years go pretty fast. I want to soak up this precious time, for me and my friends, before it shoots right past me.

I am a strong *day* person. You know how folks always ask whether you’re a morning person or a night owl? My answer is “neither.” I can’t string together a rational statement past 10:00pm and, as Jeremy knows well, I don’t want to look at a bill or sign a check after 8. I’m not an uber early riser either. But daylight does me good, and once Livia is off to school, I love using the mornings productively.

After some general house-tidying, I push open the blinds, open my laptop, attend to a few details, and get to work on photography or writing. The clock ticks away in the corner, my husband’s chair creaks and rolls up in his office, and Shiloh leisurely rolls over in the rays of sunshine that land on his cozy bed.

Today I am editing a wonderful family photo shoot that sometimes makes me laugh out loud. Think you can guess who these cute little legs belong to?

Before

We moved into the Prairie Box in December of 2001. I’ve always loved the light and space of my kitchen. The large south-facing windows make the kitchen a cheery place to be, which is good since I don’t love to cook. Love to bake, yes. Love to cook, not so much. Renovating the kitchen was on our 15-year plan, so, since we’re selling at year ten, we did a partial renovation to encourage the sale of the house.

After

Gone is the mint green wall color and gone is the horrendous wallpaper border. All surfaces were lightened with a coat of white paint, including the two types of faux brick the previous owner must have found immensely attractive. A brand new countertop and sink made a huge difference in the overall aesthetics of the room. I enlarged one of my apple photos and we hung that over the stove.

I love my new kitchen. I hope the new owner does as well.

Daniel Meigs has posted images from Andrew and Jenny’s wedding. Go check them out!

Feast your eyes upon these images because they are the last of my Andrew & Jenny wedding pics. As soon as the wonderful, super talented Daniel Meigs walked in the salon door on the actual wedding day, I put down my camera. It was time to put on my bridesmaid and mother-to-flowergirl hat and put the photographer hat down. That being said, if you’re on Facebook you can see albums full of fabulous wedding photos—what a great day it was, too!

After our Moms and Sister Breakfast Friday, I went back up Lookout Mountain and joined my little family for a few hours. We drove to the old Mountain Fountain for lunch (it’s Cafe on the Corner now) where I ate one of the best salads ever and we had really attentive and kind wait staff care for us. Then we enjoyed views from The Incline and my knees felt only the tiniest bit wobbly. I can’t fathom living on the very edge of Lookout like some folks do. Before going to Covenant College I used to have terrible dreams about accidentally slipping off the side of the mountain. Clearly I’m now a 100% plains girl; no worrisome terrain here in Lincoln, Nebraska!

Friday evening found us at Northshore Pres for the wedding rehearsal. Lawtons and Pankratzs met up alongside Andrew and Jenny’s friends. One of the joys of that evening, for me at least, was realizing how great A&J’s friends are. I’m so grateful they have this awesome community of friends in Chattanooga! This fact became more evident as we watched how their friends helped support them before, during and after the ceremony and reception. They were wonderful.

I love so many of these images. There’s Uncle Steve beaming at me above the heads of Jenny and her dad. Andrew greeting his new family at the church door. Dressed-in-plaid cousins Livia and Madeleine. The hilarious duo of Patty and Meg. Adorable and shy ring bearers (who donned navy bowties for the actual ceremony—they were killer). Nana and her granddaughters caught in a squeeze. Andrew and Jenny looking tres cool and very in love as they walked into the rehearsal dinner.

It was a huge joy to celebrate the beginning of this marriage among family and friends.

Jeremy, Livia and I flew into Chattanooga a bit later than expected last Thursday night. (Thank you, Delta, for the delay that had us chasing standby seats for hours. Apart from that snafu, you did well.) We drove up Lookout Mountain to our guest lodging at Covenant College in the dark—no beautiful scenery visible, but oh those twinkling lights of Chattanooga far below! I love Lookout Mountain.

The next day I walked into Hampton Inn’s lobby and found both my folks and brothers waiting to get the day started. A photo opp with my grown siblings is a rarity indeed. Thanks to dad for getting this shot!

My soon-to-be sister-in-law hosted a breakfast for moms and sisters at The Blue Plate. None of us had met each other yet and bonding over a delicious breakfast was a perfect way to start the wedding weekend. I’m still thinking about the pancake I ate, or tried to eat. It was huge and so darn good.

This handsome guy is clearly not a mom or sister. His name is Burl and he is adorable. His mama Meg blogs at A Barefoot Day—besides being one of the funniest gals around, she has a great eye for design.