He is seven tomorrow. Seven. SEVEN.

His request for his birthday – a night out at Dave and Buster’s…and so we went. He played one game the entire time.  We tried to tell him there were plenty of other games, but when the kid has his mind made up, he has his mind made up.

Currently:

He is obsessed (and I do mean obsessed with sports) It is all he talks about.  He’s in the first grade and made the second grade basketball team.  He got special basketball shoes for the occasion from Daddy and I and brings them to practice in a bag, wears them only at practice, and then takes them off to put different shoes on to go home in. It cracks me up. It’s serious business…this second grade team.  Brady took him out to eat one evening while I was in Minnesota.  They went to a restaurant near our house that has an outdoor fountain.  Brady gave Michael a quarter and said, “Make a wish.”  Michael sat and pondered for quite some time and then gave the quarter back to Brady.   Brady asked why he was giving him the quarter back to which Michael replied, “I was going to wish that I would be in the NBA someday, but I already KNOW I am so I don’t need the quarter.” …and nonchalantly walked away.  He’s on a mission I tell you.  When it’s not basketball, there’s constant begging to go outside and practice routes for football.  Soccer and baseball have taken backseat.

He still love transformers.  The latest and greatest for him is the new Kre-O transformer legos…although I’m not sure who likes them more…Michael or Daddy.  He’s got a vivid imagination and will sit for hours and entertain himself with transformer battles.

He’s a chatterbox…and I do mean chatterbox.  I swear he talks more than me and I’m not making that up.  His newest thing when asking him to do something is, “Just one second…I have to tell you something….” followed by at least a 10 minute story.   We have to constantly remind him that he can get dressed and talk at the same time.  Multitasking is a new and slow concept around here, but we’re getting there. :)

His favorite foods are eggs and ketchup (try making that when you’re in your first trimester of pregnancy), bacon, Nutella and jelly sandwiches, broccoli, pomegranate, apples and peanut butter, and tacos.  He’s not big into sweets and would rather have a juice pack or fruit….I’ll take that as long as it lasts.

He’s extremely animated and talks like an adult. It makes me laugh every time he’s serious about something.  He uses the word “ridiculous” a lot.  We were watching a football game the other day in which one of the players purposely stepped on another player with his cleats while getting up. Michael put his head in his hands and said, “See, now that behavior is just RIDICULOUS!”  Funny boy.

We loved six. I know we’ll love seven. He’ll be a big brother at seven and I can’t wait to see the two of them together.

Every day we thank our lucky stars for you Mr. Michael.

xo

** Images taken in September. I realized I never posted them and love them so. Actions: my own **

I was going through images for my brother’s Christmas card picture and stumbled across these lovelies.  I love these two.  They remind me very much of my own relationship with my father.  Ayla is feisty, sweet, stubborn, angelic, and she melts my brother into a puddle.  He adores her and it’s no wonder he has a hard time telling her no.  She is a complete daddy’s girl.  I’m so glad she’ll have these images to cherish when she’s older….taken right before we were ready to leave – happy luck.

I’m finishing up on placing all client orders this week and then I’ll have more time to blog some beautiful client sessions from this year.  I cannot believe that we’re almost to November! Where did the time go?

* Actions: my own *

Much Love,

Krysta xo

*** If you want to keep up with our other little corner of the world, make sure you visit us over at The Dollhouse. :) ***

Today.
I want a small, simple home.
With a claw foot tub to soak in.
With creaky floor boards.
And homemade quilts on our beds.
I want old toys for my children.
Spinning tops, wood flapping ducks, and building blocks.
I want mismatched furniture.
And treasures found in a world traveled.
I want to frame love letters my father left for my mother.
And let them dance across our walls.
To remind me that love most certainly does last for eternity.
Today.
I want a garden.
To make dinner from something I have nurtured and sustained.
I want green grass.
Like, the really really green kind.
That I can prance through with bare feet.
And lay down in for afternoon dreams.
I want a porch swing.
Like the swing Stacy and I used to sit in.
Summer nights, endless hours, belly laughing.
Today.
I want the people I miss all in one spot.
To sit around my kitchen table.
In chairs I’ve collected from flea markets.
…with sorted colors of  dinnerware.
I want to crank jazz music while I cook for them.
I want laughter to fill the air.
And a good bottle of red wine to share.
For deep conversation.
While early morning hours creep in.
Today.
I want the ocean.
Sand.
My Tiffany blue beach cruiser.
With a basket and a bell.
To ride until my legs get tired.
For Brady to ride beside me.
To talk about our future.
And stop for an iced coffee.
Today.
I want to read an endless pile of books.
The ones I have no time for.
I want a date with my camera.
To take pretty pretty pictures.
I want to walk to the cigar shop.
And pick out the most perfect cigar.
The ones I used to buy for my father. 
Just to have.
And for my mama to live next door.
To love on my babies.
Today.
These are my thoughts.
For a simple life.
With the people I love most in this world…

I wrote this a short while after my father left this world…when life was cluttered and confusing and messy.  I remember so vividly how I struggled to find balance in that new and unfamiliar world.  I reminded myself daily that this journey would be taken one breath at a time…and it was. …and then there came a day when the fog settled even more than the day before and the sun was a bit more visible and I knew, despite all of the pain and the heartache, that we would make it through to the other side…

I came across this the other day and realized my thoughts haven’t changed one bit.  The things I wanted then are still the same things I want now.  The only thing that would be different is that there would now be a baby pull behind attached to my beach cruiser. :)  Losing such an influential person in your life will change your priorities.  So will welcoming a new one.   At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what zip code my home is in.  I don’t care that our furniture doesn’t match or that the “I’d like to have” items that I have circled in catalogs will probably always remain circled. What matters to me most is human connection…the ability to sit across from someone and get lost in discussion for hours. The kind where you look at your watch and say, “We’ve been here for three hours?”  I feel most content when I see our friends and family walk through our front door and make themselves at home.  …and amongst all of the chatter and laughter and snuggled in bodies on couches, if I listen closely, I can hear Happy.  I love Saturday mornings where Michael climbs up on his foot stool with messy bed hair and helps make chocolate pancakes for Daddy…or Sunday morning coffee runs with my mama where we sit and talk about my father amidst tears and giggles…missing and remembering.  My most favorite thing in this world is when Brady wakes up early in the morning and rolls over to put his hand on my belly.  Instantly our baby boy starts moving and kicking.  It makes me smile every time and is the best feeling in this world. These are the things that matter the most to me…

I have been thinking a lot lately about so many things.  I have seen so many other people feeling the same way.   We live in a technologically advanced world.  It is both a blessing and a curse.  I am so thankful for the ability to connect and communicate with friends and family states and continents over.   We have Facebook, Twitter, Skype,  LinkedIn, Flickr, Pinterest…etc to keep ourselves in the know.  However, something comes from that.  The inability to just let ourselves Be.  We are so engrossed in what the rest of the world is doing that we miss what is going on right in front of us. So many people are busy posting and uploading images of what they’re doing this very minute that I wonder if they’re truly able to enjoy the experience or if they’re waiting to see who comments.  I find myself logging into my social media sites for 5 minutes and before I know it an hour has passed…an hour that could have been spent otherwise.  We all have real people in front of us.  We all have real lives that are waiting for us to live them.  Life is so short and so precious…too precious to be buried in computer screens and smart phones. We have changed our way of doing things around here.   I work when the boys aren’t here and when they are, the computer goes off.  The phones get put to silent and we just enjoy.   We spend more time outside with one another planning and dreaming about our future and less time getting lost in what everyone else is doing.   I have a little boy that is waiting to come into this chaotic world and he deserves to have parents who are fully present in the moments in his life.   He deserves more time exploring and less time waiting for his mommy to get off of the computer.  He deserves a family sitting around the dining room table for dinner talking about their days and fort building with his big brother in the living room. He deserves so much more than the time crazed, social media obsessed society we live in. He deserves Real. We all do.

We are making it a point to slow down.  To write hand written letters and to get on the phone to talk to those we love and miss.  We are putting away the video games, using our imaginations, and playing board games.   We are baking and cooking and enjoying taking too long to get out the door on the weekends.  We are soaking in the beach as long as this weather will let us…and making way for this little Love that will soon be making us a family of four.

We are Living…and I couldn’t be happier.

Much Love, 
Krysta xo

We had five minutes left in the light of day. Five minutes.  I wasn’t worried. I knew she’d bring it. She always does.  I told her my vision was black and white and grainy and moody and edgy…pretty much how I would shoot all the time if I had my choice.  Five minutes and this is what she gave me and I love every bit of it.   And seriously…how cute are her nose wrinkles?

I have more coming from their family session. After we wrapped, Amber, her two daughters, Aja and Sophie, and Oscars’s mama Stacy and I went out to eat at the cutest little restaurant in Excelsior.  We sipped on hot chocolate, ate entirely too much homemade chicken pot pie, and listened to Aja and Sophie construct quite the stories with their little imaginations.  I love when nights like this come along.  Sometimes it’s not just the photos themselves…it’s the people and the experiences I get to attach to them.  Little bits of my life tucked away in images.  When I think of it that way, I feel pretty lucky.

Much Love,

Krysta xo

…I do realize I have not been very good at blogging this summer.  It’s not for lack of things to post.  I have so many beautiful summers sessions waiting to be shown off and some really amazing shoots coming up that I can’t wait to share.  Life has just been a bit busy lately and during these beautiful summer days, I simply cannot bring myself to sit in front of a white screen when I know winter is just around the corner.  We have been living outdoors lately and the park has become our second home. I really would not want it any other way. So, maybe this handsome face will tide you over and as soon as the calm returns, I’ll be a good girl and start posting pretty pictures again. Forgive me, won’t you?  :)

Much Love,

Krysta xo