Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

inspired by so much... i am really meditating on Mary... and how she loved God enough to live what she could see, and choose to believe that God would do as He said... even if that she would be the mother of her Lord, even if it meant the same hands that formed the mountains were growing in her womb. how truly wonderful.

what are you meditating on this Christmas season?

what are you doing to keep your heart focused on what matters most to you?

eat her up!!!

sweet bella was so tiny... she is growing so fast. too fast.

can you make them stop? is there a formula mama's???

she is so precious everyday.

i love watching her grow.

oh, and do you see the cute tutu??? emily made it!!

if you are interested in one, email me- i told her she needed to sell them... i don't know if she believes me when i say they are adorable!! so, email me and we will get her to making them!!!

do you see this little mama's smile?? she is really that happy.

all of the time.

i just adore her.

hope her joy rubs off on you today.

this Christmas, the most precious gifts i have are the memories i hold, and what a treasure to be able to see what i hold in my heart...

the greatest big brother in the world, joy that is deeper than could ever be expressed, the sweetest sister, and the wildest little brother.

here is a peak into our crazy lives.

told you, he's the greatest... he even came to my tea parties... the greatest!

and jacklyn & ben were the sweetest little siblings... we had soo much fun. too much fun.

these images are of some of my most treasured... my grandmother's whose heart's i carry with me every day and who i find in myself more and more as the Lord reveals to me who He has created me to be.  I am their legecy. these pictures are some of my treausred posessions.

they were servants, teachers, encourage-rs... and they loved us, they LOVED US. i don't think we could have felt more special.  i miss them everyday and can't wait to see them again, i have so many questions. did i mention they were always, ALWAYS hip? and do you see my mama? HOTTIE!! seriously, my house, closet, and jewelry box is filled with their favorite things- when i get compliments on cool stuff i have/wear... it is always theirs! they are the reason i buy nice shoes, bags, and dresses!! i want my grandkids to be able to enjoy them too!!  ooh how i miss them.

this is proof, i've known my sweet husband longer than most people in my life:

that's him in the bottom corner, the brunette cutie pie! and KAREN! that's you sister!!

and because brandon's mama isn't alive, i don't get to see the day to day similarities as brandon grows and ages... but because of the gift of photography, i have these images... i'm so thankful our mama's were buddies. my kids will get a kick out of seeing how much alike their daddy and his mama looked at the same age. treasures:

she is in the left behind will at the top, and on the right in the bottom two... beautiful.

see? how incredible?

these are just vintage film shots, (who knew i would be old enough to have a part in anything "vintage") everyday, our family, our lives... i would give my right arm for a better look into our lives... our whole family, as we were, in each others arms, lives, faces, hands, loving each other as we did.

that time has passed, and though i don't have a lot, i have a few glimpses that are tangible to me.

this is post is to stir your heart... to get you to think about where you are investing this Christmas, where will those investments be in 20 years? think about giving the gift of photography this year.

and i don't mean everybody sign up for a session (i couldn't do them all anyway!!:)) i mean, get out your camera, shoot, everything, everyone, as they are...there are a million things you can do with photographs!

you will be so glad you did, and if you really want to do something cool... hire a photographer and join in the photos!!  i am sure there are photographers in your area that are excited to document families and life, call one up, just do it! i dare you! you will be so glad you did.

here are a few of the zillion things you can do with your images:

1. make a cool garland
2. christmas ornaments
3. custom cards
4. frame them
5. scrapbook
6. create a calendar (a really cool one)
7. print them
8. create a coffee table book
9. create a painting from one
10. make a pillow case (yes, it can be cool)
11. mount them and use them as creative collage on your wall
12. print them on canvas
13. make a custom block set
14. create iron on decals and decorate your life!

and the list goes on and on...

don't wait for the next season of life, or your hair to grow, or go to get back into those pants... this is life, you are alive, so celebrate it, capture it... LIVE IT!!!  HAPPY MONDAY!

i'm taking off until monday, so if you call me friday, i'll be baking at my mama's.

so sorry... well, ok, not really- my little brother is here, i have friends and family to celebrate with- so, i'm going to enjoy every second!! 

so, adios until monday!!

have a beautiful, wonderful, marvelous time with family and friends!!

there is so much to be thankful for, how beautiful is this life?

so, kelly came to deck her walls, get her Christmas cards ordered, and begin the Christmas gift ordering process (and she is perfectly on time, if you haven't done that, be sure you do soon- i'll post deadlines tomorrow)

she loved a ton of images- (yeah)

we were really trying to find a red couch FAV-

for the one on the blog i joked that i had to take off one of john's heads and move it to that image...

kelly tripped out because she didn't know i could do that-

so, we settled on a fav-

but there was one problem-

jack had a momentary melt down and wasn't soo happy.  less than a second later, he was glad again

so, the next frame was a cute little smile... so,

i did what any photographic surgeon would do...

i took off his head.

how funny is that?

i've never actually done that for a finished print before, because normally there is one i can make work- but to get 3 kids and a mama and dad smiling with ear and eye infections going on is tricky... really tricky- so, here is the finished product- cute as can be, huh?

who needs medical school? just take a CRASHcourse... i'll show you how to make this happen!!

if i showed you the walls of there house you would be inspired.

you would hire a photographer to capture your children, and then create incredible art pieces that communicate the love that you all share.

it has happened almost everytime a new person enters their home.

i get an email or phonecall that says "i was in the sherrill's house, and i saw their pictures and... i have to do this with my family."

i just shot a 3 hour extended session for a lady who has never, NEVER had photographs in her living room (only in her bedroom because she believes they are deeply personal) and after seeing kelly's, she is ready to dive into making art out of her family... INCREDIBLE!!

so, #1 i'm thankful that kelly and john choose me to capture their BEAUTIFUL family

#2 i'm really glad that they use their home to enjoy their family and display their photographs as art

#3 i'm glad they do it on an annual basis so that their walls aways look fresh and not so "oh, i remember when so and so could fit into those jeans, where are those? did we garage sale those 3 years back?"

everytime i'm at their house i intend on photographing their walls and sharing how they chose a display that they could annually update without breaking the bank- i'll do that and then share-

_________________

so, aside from all of that- i love me some sherrill's.

LOVE THEM.

i love that they were perfectly styled, because kelly worked so hard and cares about every detail.

i love that the boys are so different, and so wonderful.

my favorite conversation segments:

(me) "hey jp (jadon), i really dig that black shirt under that denim, and i like how you rolled the sleeves up, that looks great."

jadon  says to me (keep in  mind it is kind of scary how much it feels like you are talking to a 30 year old when you are talking to him) "thanks, i dig it too - (hands go into his pocket like a really cool teenager) um, shauna, i have this vest that my mom says i can't wear right now, but when you take pictures of just me she says that if you say it's ok i can wear it, so, you gotta tell me if it looks hip."

(me) "sure, jadon. you know i would never let you look un-hip."

"i know, i know, i'm just making sure."

fast forward to the placing on of the vest.

(jadon) "hey shauna, this is the vest my mom says you have to decide on."

(me) "what? that vest?- dude, it's TOTALLY hip."

(jadon) "i knew it was... my mom just doesn't trust my style."

ok, so jack was not feeling well.

eye infection- achy ears, all set in full effect right as we were wrapping up our day- but he's jack- and he is always, always precious.

so, me and jack are in the middle of the field and everyone else is at the car- except brandon who was chasing kyle all over the place.

jack is watching brandon and i can tell he his IN his imagination- and he looks back over at me and says softly (in a tone that the approaching brandon would not have been able to hear)

"you know, i could totally beat brandon up, i could shauna, really."

(i almost fell over) "well, buddy- it really wouldn't be nice for you to do that- brandon loves you and would never want to fight you."

(jack) "i'm just saying, i could."

brandon walks up with kyle...

(jack) "hey dude, i could totally beat you up if i wanted to... but i won't."

sooo jack.  he just needed to make it known. sweet little man...

in moments like that i'm reminded how different siblings can be. jadon would have never thought about beating brandon up, maybe forcing him to be in his band and correcting him when he wasn't playing the right song, but that is about it...  as kelly says "jack is so, good guy/bad guy"- justice is in him- i can't wait to see how God uses that for His glory.

and then there is sweet kyle who would do anything for a sucker.

i have never, EVER brought candy with me to a photo shoot, but i had some in my car (GOOD THING!)

i kept those mini tootsie pops in my pocket and held one up just as kyle was about to loose it... it worked like a charm!

i love these boys... as you can tell- and i'm so thankful to get to capture their hearts every year.

i have successfully checked off the things i HAVE to do today... so, now i'm going to do what i WANT to do today!

here is a hint at what is happening:

if you guess right, i'll send you a surprise!!