behind the scenes: miracles

my house is currently full of bugs.
literally.
well, ok, maybe not as full as my favorite little mister would like, but so far this spring we have had an owl-eyed moth, monarch caterpillars, praying mantises, ants, and we have also raised tadpoles.

i truly love my son's obsession and during the year of the cicada, i called him my "bug rescuer".

this year in first grade, his teacher even gave him the official job of "bug catcher", as he will gasp if he sees anyone trying to "kill nature"... and instead, he gently picks them up & escorts them outside.

anyways, raising butterflies is one of my favorite summer activities.

to watch the caterpillar grow so large, then spin itself closed, then magically appear as a whole new creature is truly a miracle which we get to observe in the process.


so, this photo inspired me to create the art, below.

i for one have at least 5 HUGE miracles i am believing in God for. they are huge to me & if they happen (or shall i say when) i will be rejoicing in His awesome power.

some things about miracles:
1. you have to believe
2. you have to make effort to see them & recognize them
3. they are happening all around you, daily.

tender life itself is a miracle to appreciate daily.

the wonder of nature ... a rainbow, the tide, the sunset, flowers blooming from tiny seeds... they are all miracles all around us.

so, tomorrow keep an eye out for miracles.
take them in and enjoy them.
then, give God the glory!

grace & peace,
julie

new art & new boo-boos

this is a good news - bad news post.

the good news is that my 12 new plaques with DEMDACO are out in stores! here is sunshine girl holding the one she is in.
and here is my favorite little mister holding the eagle shot he "helped" me take.
(the above photo was taken today, one day after the accident)

now, for the bad news (as i hope you are wondering from the first photo why my sunshine looks a little beat up)...

so, yesterday we took the train into chicago to head to the shedd aquarium. we got off the train, ate breakfast at a famous little diner & headed to the bus stop. while waiting for our bus (which was late!), the kids decided to race up & down this wheelchair ramp. the girls bumped (sunshine said pumpkins stepped on her toes) & sunshine tripped & happened to smack down right on the marble ledge. just at the correct angle to allow her head to once again split open.

thank GOD where she hit, as both sam & the e.r. doc said if the cut would have been a half inch higher, it would have been a major artery.. ie: ambulance & scariness.

thank GOD sam was with me this time, as for one, i don't even know where the nearest chicago hospital was & two, he is studying to be a nurse. i was shaking. he was calm. we decided to get back on the train & head home to our local e.r., all the while sam pinched her skin together & applied pressure to make the bleeding stop.

she played his iphone the whole way home as she lay in daddy's lap, so actually, she was a pretty happy camper. hardly any tears at all.

round trip to chicago in less than an hour & a half.
4 more stitches, as shown above. today her eye started to swell as well.

oh, and today we did go back to the shedd though i felt like a nervous wreck most of the day looking after her just waiting for another accident to happen or someone's elbow to bump her head. ugh! i told some friends i was thinking of bubble wrapping her for the rest of the summer.
and, here's my last shot. she is still my little rock star. sam says we're just training her for UFC early.

oh, my. pray for healing & minimal scarring. the doctor joked about saving her face to model someday & i told her she already is my model!



grace & peace,
julie

paparazzi wedding

over memorial day weekend, my cousin married his beautiful love and i like to refer to the wedding as the "paparazzi wedding"... due to the excitement of the friends & family or due to the fact that they make a stunning couple, i think almost everyone at the wedding brought their cameras, including me!

i had earlier this spring shot a wedding & wow... talk about a nerve racking experience. i mean, you have ONE chance to capture the moment & then it's gone forever. (i have much respect for good wedding photographers!)

so, to shoot my cousin's wedding was so much fun, as i was not the "official" photographer. i could just have fun with it and try to catch whatever i saw as tender or beautiful.
getting ready in the dressing room... stunning, eh?!
the adorable flower girl
best friends (2 sisters) before the wedding ... giddy with excitement!
the big smooch-a-roo
the happy mr. & mrs.
at the reception, my cousin gave total glory to God for their union & what He's done in their lives. amen brother!
detail of the wedding party

if you are going to any weddings this summer, let me know if you need a unique gift from the shop. i also do personalized wedding or anniversary gifts with the couples names & date.

grace & peace,
julie

superpowers

wow. what a week. last week was new haircuts, preschool graduations, end of school for my first grader, and now this week in the midst of me creating several new pieces (including the one above) came craziness and a trip to the emergency room!

i chuckle now, thinking God put this verse once again on my heart as it has meant so much to me as a mommy who "has young". and, i must say that i felt the truth of this verse hold me together as i cared for my hurt young.
remember this pic from about a month ago? (our trip to the sheep farm) ... well, now you can see the before & after process of my work.
so, where to begin? i will begin the story on monday. we went to visit some good friends who just had their firstborn son (who i HOPE to shoot soon some newborn pics!) anyways, they commented on how thus far nothing had gone as hoped, in terms of her birthing plan, etc... and i smiled and said, "welcome to parenthood! where the rest of your life is unknowns that you get through on the spur of the moment and most of your days are filled with the unplanned or unexpected."

now, jump to wednesday. i got a call from a friend saying she had tadpoles, praying mantises, and a caterpillar for my favorite little mister. so, i told the girls, "let's go!" as i got one of our booster seats out of our other car, sunshine girl decided to do some of her superpowers in btwn the 2 front seats. she put her hands on the armrests of the minivan & lifted up (pressing on her hands) as you would do on the parallel bars. apparently she was biting down on her lower lip when she slipped & smashed her face completely because there was blood EVERYWHERE. (ok, maybe not everywhere, but more than any mommy likes to see).

of course, i was home alone at the time & we still went to the house with the bugs since the mom is a biology / anatomy teacher like sam, so i know she would know if i was over reacting for stitches. (plus, they live 2 blocks from the hospital). she took one look at sunshine girl & said, "get going!"
once we were at the e.r., there were no more tears. the doc numbed her lip & did 4 stitches as she held perfectly still & even asked him some questions. i was so proud of my brave girl.

in the car on the way to get icecream :) she said, "mom, there are 2 good things about my accident: 1. now my tooth is wiggly & 2. now we have a story for my brother!"

we go to the dentist monday & stitches come out wednesday. sam (who is studying to be a nurse) wants to take them out... hmmm... should we let him? i trust him.
the above pic is from this morning when pumpkin poos was twirling so big she fell face down on the wood floor & hurt herself too! (no blood though :) they comforted her by bringing her puppies & baby dollies, then said, "mom! we should get a picture!"

i must say, i love the fact that my kids ask for their photos to be taken.

well, a happy start to summer! enjoy. more new work to be posted in the shop & here soon!

grace & peace,
julie