six years, baby!

I love my life. And it all started with him.


OH, and by the way, this is my 600th post! How appropriate, 6 years, 600 posts.

you were totally right

Now that I've looked at it more, I don't like the edited version one bit.

So here's another version to redeem myself.

its one o'clock

...in the a.m. people. I'm trying to finish the wedding I did earlier this month and I need a break. So I thought I would share two pictures from the sweetheart shoots. These are befores and afters of the two beautiful ladies.

Here's the before of Sarah:



And after. I played around with it and made it soft and really muted. I'm not sure how I feel about it. What do you think?

Audrey's before:

And after. I again played around with color, giving it a blue-ish tone. She kinda reminded me of a little wood nymph so I thought these colors would fit.

curiosity killed the.........dryer?

Carter is a very curious kid. He likes to climb, he likes to cram things into places they don't belong, and he likes a good challenge. Lethal combination.

Case in point: THIS was found in our toilet a couple of months ago. After a few weeks of constant toilet problems, Brian finally had to take apart the toilet to find out what the problem was.



And then today he put his blanket, shoes, two pair of my shoes, three balls, a cup and two cars into the diaper pail in the garage. I couldn't find my shoes all day and then knew there must be a stash somewhere when his favorite blanket went missing. Why did you have to choose the nastiest place on earth, Carter?

And THEN I put a load of clothes into the dryer, turned it on and it made an awful thud and stopped. Oh, great. So we were scrambling to find a neighbor to take our clothes to when I remembered pulling carter down from the top of the dryer earlier that day and thought maybe he had done something to it. So Brian took apart the back of the dryer and found two rubber gloves, a couple of socks and one of Abby's mittens - all which he had shoved down the lint trap.
Thankfully the dryer survived the attack.

Needless to say, he's keeping us on our toes.

oh, really?

who's da man?

Two weeks ago we lost Carter's last pacifier, (and I don't mean "lost," we really did lose it) and he he's been paci free ever since. It was tough the first 10 days or so because he would wake up multiple times in the night, but he's done good the last few days and he doesn't even ask for it anymore.



It's so nice to see that smile all the time!

nature walk

Doesn't Abby have the GREATEST smile?!

And here's a couple of "the lip."

a pleasant mistake

Sometimes photography mistakes make beautiful images anyway. My focal point was off in this picture (see how the grass to the left is in focus) but there's just something about this image that I love, despite its flaws.

Go on over to my photography blog to see more from this shoot.

contentment

Abby had her four-year well visit yesterday and it was pure insanity. Brian watched Carter (thankfully) and I refrained from giving a lot of information to Abby about where we were going because I knew If SHE knew she would be a basket case. So we drove up to the doctor and she immediately started chanting "I don't want to hurt me". And then when the nurse called us in she went ballistic. The nurse couldn't get anything done and our conversations were drowned out by moaning and screaming. And I had to pin her down to take off her clothes for the exam and then hide the clothes in a high cabinet. That really set her off and she crawled in the corner beside the exam table, hugged her knees and screamed bloody murder for 15 minutes while we waited for the doctor to come in. She was like a caged wounded animal and it was very strange and sad to see her so scared. And there was nothing I could do.

When the doctor came in it was more screaming and talking over the screaming while he tried to exam her, but then he told her he wanted to look in her ears. She immediately stopped crying pulled off her hearing aids, let him look in her ears and nose and then started screaming again after I put her aids back on. At least she feels safe with a doctor looking in her ears.

And if it couldn't get any worse, when they gave her the shots it was like sheer terror. Poor little girl. I hope she doesn't get sick any time soon cause there's no way she's going to let us set foot in that doctor's office for a long time.

BUT then as we were getting in the car after this whole ordeal, she said, "Mommy, I had fun at the doctor. You have fun at the doctor?"

??????????!

Anyway, here's a picture I took with Abby and Cousin Ben at Grandmas house the other day. I love this picture. They look so happy and content without a care in the world. I am so glad we have so many cousins that live so close together and love each other so much.



Oh and her stats are:

Ht. 42" - 90%
Wt. 39.4 - 75%

I was watching the nurse measure her and I think she was a little off on the height. I think its more like 41.5." But I guess that's still pretty tall.

my happy happy song

I would say that Don't Stop Believin' by the Glee Cast is my current happy song, but that would be an understatement. For some reason that song makes me wanna get up and sing and dance in the isle like Aunt Gladys at a holy rollin' pentecostal revival.



Okay, maybe not. But I have busted out on the treadmill a time or two.

And while I'm on the subject, I lu-u-u-v Glee. Lurve it!

rusty

We pass by this old truck almost every day and I always tell myself that one day I'm going to photograph it. Well when it started dumping snow on us the other day I decided it was about time.

our snow family

This is what we did on Friday.

As you can see, my snowman had a fatal crack, and toppled over soon after I took the picture. Carter and Brian's lasted a little longer, and last time I checked today, Abby's snowgirl is still standing. You go girl.

honey child,

WHERE did you get that lip???

That's just unnatural.

anyone? anyone?

Anyone want some professional pictures of their kids in a field of snow?

After school today at 3:30.

15 minute session
for $15
5-7 high-res. pictures on a disc.

Come on, how often does it snow like this? Take advantage of it!

Location TBA, but it will most likely be in the Sage Creek or Creekside subdivision.

Bundle your kids up in their cutest!

Call me at 214-316-0161 if you wanna.

poor little abby's mouth

It's almost healed, believe it or not. But the last few days are the ugliest.

Number one comment I got all through my childhood... "Hey, you've got chocolate on your lip."

Shut up.

thank you

We have the greatest family and the bestest friends in the world. Thank you all for your friendship and support. ...and the meals, phone calls, flowers, emails, fuzzy socks, babysitting, prayers ... for everything.

Miscarriages are the worst, but you have all made it easier to bear.

So grateful for you all.

lucy moment

Sometimes I feel like I'm in an I love Lucy episode, standing in the kitchen with spaghetti noodles exploding all over me and Ethel and every square inch of space when Desi walks in and says, "Lucy, you got some 'splaining to do!"

After spending almost an hour on the phone with Med-El last night and countless emails and phone calls with our Med-el rep and Audiologist this morning, we got a replacement implant overnighted to us.

And then I get an email from anther rep. later that said, have you tried this.....?

Well I tried it, and it worked. One stupid little cord turned the wrong way.

All this struggle, one full day of Abby not hearing, all because I had a cord turned the wrong way. Not to mention the great lengths that they went to to get a replacement for us asap.

And to make it worse, I was going through the big box of stuff they send you and discovered that I didn't need to buy $50 worth of disposible batteries for the back-up battery compartment, the only one I thought we had, and stress about changing batteries every couple of days. Because lo and behold, I found a spare rechargable battery compartment in all our stuff.

If I would have just gotten the lost implant replaced a month ago like I should have, oh, and if I would have actually looked at everything in the box, oh and if I would have paid more attention to how we were putting the implant together, none of these shenanegins in the past 24hrs would have happened.

Oh, the life of a CI mom.

not starting off so well

Abby's only (currently) cochlear impant died on us this morning. I've troubleshooted to no avail. It's dead as a doornail. Not having an implant scares me. I hear Med-el's repair turnaround is speedy. Here's to hoping.

Abby also won't wear her hearing aid because she says her ear hurts.

Abby ALSO has a tummy ache this morning and hasn't left the couch. Not normal.

So with a deaf/ear aching/tummy hurting girl, me and she are just gonna stay home from church today.

*sigh*

ten things about carter

*He's been such a sweet boy lately. He's actually been the "good" kid for the last few weeks with Abby going through a grouchy teenager phase.
*He has some major attachment issues. He LOVES his pacifier and blanket and goes everywhere with them. When we let him.
*His receptive language is great, but his expressive is falling behind. And it all has to do with the blasted pacifier. We understand how vitally necessary it is to get rid of it, but its easier said than done. Especially for me because I hate fighting that battle. Maybe its ME that has the pacifier attachment issue. :)
*He loves Curious George.
*He would rather drink juice all day than have real food. Constant battle.
*He's a speed demon on his bike and thinks its fun when I have to chase after him to get him to turn around.
*He and daddy started this thing where they say Hi-Yo! in a deep voice back and forth. So cute.
*He can swing himself on the big kid swing.
*He likes to wear this hat when he goes outside to play. It's a size 6 months and was meant for me to use in photoshoots, but he's stretched it to size and claimed it as his own.
*Loves to cuddle with Mommy. He's been my therapy this past week.

control

There have been several times in my life where the Lord has taken my life in a completely different direction than what I had planned. Times that have left me feeling completely out of control. Most of those times were filled with pain and growth.

This is one of those times.

But I've survived every one of those trials, and my life is fuller and richer because of the things that I have learned.

So I can do this. Again.

ten things about abby

She loves hugs. When I drop her off at school its like a hug fest between her and her friends, boys and girls alike. And when I tell her we're going to a play date or something, the first thing she says, is Mommy, I'm going to give so-and-so a hug. She also always comes to me and says, mommy, give me a hug. Such a sweetie.

It seems ever since she's turned four she's become posessive of her stuff, wants to steal other people's stuff, and always wants to be first. And she bullies Carter all the time. Well, except she doesn't do any of this at school. Perfect for her teachers, not perfect for me. Anyone else notice this about their four-year-old?

She's in a clothing rut, always wanting to wear this same purple dress. So I bought three other cotton dresses that she "approved" of and she alternates wearing those every day at school. I can't stand it, and really can't wait till she grows out of it. I bought her SO many cute clothes for the winter, and she's hardly worn them.

She's HATES being at home and she gets bored easily. After school she always asks where we're going or what we're going to do next. I'm like, wasn't 6 hours at school enough for you?

She has been getting cold sores about once a month. I feel SO bad for her. Both me and Brian get them so its totally our fault for passing it along.

She still really loves to color and draw. And she's pretty good at it.

Her current favorite things to watch are Cinderella, AFV (people fall down show) and for some reason she really likes scary stuff like Harry Potter (not my doing).

Her hair still won't grow and I've only trimmed it once in her life. She is really jealous of other girls with long hair and often bends her head back so her hair will touch her shoulders and lets it tickle her neck.

She's talking up a storm, conversating and forming complete thoughts with often 5+ word sentences. Cochlear implants are incredible.

She's still as happy, animated and gregarious as ever, and I'm so glad I have her.

Photo by Missy, edited by Me.

winner? me?

This photo got chosen as the number one photo by judge Jose Villa, as well as a top five favorite from one other judge. Now I know that my picture taking ability hardly had anything to do with me winning. I owe it all to Carter's overly expressive personality. But still, it is such an honor to be chosen (out of almost 1000 entries) by one of the best and most well-known wedding photographers in the world.

Go HERE to see all the winning entries and HERE to visit my photo blog.

guess what I did last night?

Took a West Coast Swing Class with this guy!

carter loves the cold

He really does.

If it means he can ride on his new big boy bicycle or swing on our new little swingset. But there's a point when his little hands start getting so frozen they turn red and swollen, and then he just can't take it anymore.

So then we go inside, thaw, and repeat.

I love this kid.

I'm so out of the habit of blogging. Christmas is kind of a bad time to stop documenting your life so I'll try to post something soon.

Holiday Review

**WORKING ENTRY**

Christmas Eve-Eve - We went to my mom's for our second annual eve-eve celebration. My mom reserves the gym at church and we have games for the kids, eat christmas dinner, and have a little christmas pageant on the stage. And then afterwards, we all go to my mom's house, have dessert and Santa Claus comes and hands out little stocking stuffers. We came up with this idea two years ago in lieu of the traditional present exchange, and I am SO glad we did it. It has really helped us focus on the real purpose of Christmas, and considering the health issues my mom has had the past two years, just being together is all that matters.

Because we didn't want to make the long drive home late that night, we spent the night with my mom. I enjoyed it so much I think we might do that every year, if that's okay with her. It was nice to have my mom all to ourselves.



I didn't take ANY pictures while at my mom's. Doh.



The next day, Christmas Eve, we left my mom's early afternoon and drove to Midlothian to hang out with Brian's family at his sister Kristine's house. We had a fabulous smorgasborg, but cut the night off early due to the weather. Everyone driving back up to Dallas caravaned together and we braved the Christmas Eve snowstorm of 2009. What normally takes an hour to get home took two hours, but the kids were good and we actually kind of enjoyed the adventure. I mean, how often are you stuck driving in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve in DALLAS? I love it.



Christmas morning was wonderful! The kids were so pooped from the night before we slept in till 8:30 and had to wake them up to open presents.



Abby and Carter got bikes for Christmas and as a last minute addition, Brian put a basket on Abby's bike.



She was excited when she pulled away the bag and saw the bike, but here's her face when she saw the basket. Simple pleasures.

This Valentines Day, give the gift of memories to your loved one.



40 minute session for $40
Includes 10-15 digital negatives delivered to you before Valentines Day.
Saturday, January 23rd
at Adriatica Village in McKinney
www.adriaticamckinney.com/


Only THREE slots available, so act fast!
2:45-3:25
3:30-4:10
4:15-4:55


This offer is for couples only.

Email mandiemcmurdie@gmail.com or call 214-316-0161 to book your session.

the spirit of christmas

Hope your Christmas was just as wonderful as ours.

tidings of great joy

Abby had a sound booth test today where they tested what she could hear with her implant on (with her hearing aid turned off.) Across the board, from 500hz to 4000hz, she responded to tone bursts at 10-15 decibles.

That's a whisper, a bird whistle, the rustle of the trees!

Abby, who is COMPLETELY deaf in her left ear, can hear at 10 decibles with the aid of her implant and after only having it for four months.

That is a miracle, people.

i've held my tongue long enough

I just came back from a late-night milk run at Walmart. It's 12:30 am. As I was waiting in an excruciatingly long line, a lady got in line behind me. She had her mom with her and her two children. One of them was probably four or five, and the other was about eight years old. The grandma asked what time it was and the mom looked at her phone and passively said, "it's 12:00." No biggie apparantly. I looked at the eight year old and she was laying her head on the shopping cart with her eyes closed. The little boy was acting up and her mom said, "why are you being like this?" and other comments like, "Santa is watching everything you do, so you better be good."

oooohhhhh.... I was so close to saying, "lady, did it ever occur to you that maybe he's TIRED, and that's why he's acting up?!"

Okay, yeah, I understand that some people have different schedules because of their work, and so your kids sleep when you sleep. But 12am? Really? And I also know that sometimes there are extinuating circumstances where it might be necessary. But this was obviously not the case. These kids were visibly tired and needed to be in bed. I just don't understand why the grandma couldn't have stayed home with her kids and put them to bed while she shopped.

And this definitely isn't the first time this has happened. EVERY single time I make a late night shopping run, there is someone there with their kids. And its never a single parent with kids. It's always a couple of adults with the kids. For heaven sake, one of you STAY home and put your kids to bed.

Yeah, I'm far from being a perfect parent, but you will NEVER see me at Walmart at midnight with my children. But if I ever do, and I get in line behind you, just turn around and slap me.