Tomorrow Anna turns 1 year old. I cannot believe it has already been a year. I know every mother says that, but oh how true it is. I still remember this day so vividly, so it doesn't feel like a year. And usually you can't remember the first 6 months anyway, so when they turn 1 it simply feels way too soon.

And it is too soon. I spent my whole life as a little girl dreaming of the day I would marry my prince and have babies. Most girls don't dream much farther than that. And now I enter a new stage of toddlers and small children, schooling and sports, and many more things to come. The idea is cumbersome. I cried last week after Anna rested her head on my chest knowing that she'll never be this small again. My babies are grown out of infancy. It was a sweet moment I hope I never forget. Only will I experience such sweetness when I hold my grandchildren (unless God hands us a bonus baby). It's very bittersweet, and the ache grows up into my throat as I dwell on it.

And it is time to look forward to what we will experience as a complete family. In just a couple more years there will be no more diapers, not as many "needs" for mommy to meet as they will be more independent, and hopefully more sleep for everyone. Yet, as "they" say, cherish these moments, for they pass way too quickly. And they were right.

Tonight I laid her down to sleep, and for her last night as an infant I held back that ache as it crept into my throat. And I said "good night my sweet baby. See you in the morning."


Below is the blog post from a year ago. Since my blog went haywire on me I decided to repost with a few photos from the hospital and when she was 1 week old. The week-old portraits were done by Bloom by Jasmine Photography.

June 1, 2013
I awoke that morning at about 6:30am to some simple, yet real, contractions. One here, one there. Nothing much. After a few I decided I should time them just to be sure. At this point they were coming about every 10 minutes and were lasting about 45 seconds. Still, they weren't too regular, so I didn't think much of it. Tom decided it would be a good idea to take our dog Payton over to his brother's house, just in case, and then he called his mom to have her come over to watch the kids - again, just in case. I showered, ate some light food (just in case, of course), and then called the doctor's office at 9am when they opened. I was told to come in when I could to be checked. By 10am Tom and I had our bags packed and ready to go and headed to the docs office, leaving Grammy with the kids. By this time the contractions were taking my breath away, they hurt, and were about 7 minutes apart. When my doctor checked me she said I was dilated to 6 or 7cm and about 80% effaced. I was officially in labor! She told us to go straight to the hospital and she would be about 10 minutes behind.

On the way to the hospital Tom was timing the drive and I timed my contractions, asking him to avoid bumps! He dropped me off at the ER drop off (it was the only door open on the weekend) at 10:40am and I walked in and told the girl at the desk, "I'm in labor." She called for a nurse. By the time Tom met up with me I was being whisked away to labor and delivery. By the time I was able to get "dressed" and ready for labor my contractions weren't stopping and I was in laborious agony. Still trying to breath smoothly, the nurse said I was 9.5cm and it was too late for medicinal intervention. Oh, at that point I would've given anything for an epidural or narcotic (gasp!). It was in my birth plan that I wanted NO narcotics. At this point I knew she was coming and I wanted relief, so I didn't care. As I laid there I was telling Tom "I can't" all the while knowing that I have to anyway! I wanted to cry but I didn't have time to worry about that. I was doing my best to breath and go with the flow, but, uh, well, it was rather intense. So here I am, secretly pushing because I didn't know what else to do, even though the doctor wasn't there yet. My water then broke, no, popped like a balloon, and all I remember through my closed eye lids were the sounds of shock as the nurses didn't expect such a rush of water! At this point the OB on call came in since my doctor still wasn't at the hospital. Then we were in business! Time to start pushing, it was all I could do, even though I really didn't want to do it because I was in pain. I wanted a break. I didn't get one. She was coming! A few pushes and she was out. My doctor finally came in to deliver the shoulders and the rest of Anna. She was born at 11:15am.

Ahhh, I was done. Praise God, it was over. I could hardly open my eyes to look at her - they wanted to stay shut. My legs started shaking uncontrollably - my body was in a little bit of shock. It all happened so fast. Anna Grace was 19.5 inches and 7.5 lbs. And just like that my pregnancy was over and I was able to meet my little girl.

 Here are some pictures of her first days in this world.

Birthdays From The Past

Okay, so here's my attempt to reestablish certain posts from the past that have current links to Pinterest. I have copied the text that was written, and I hope that I have the same pictures to go with them. Please bear with me!
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From July 16, 2012 - Shark Party for my 3-year-old!

So this past weekend my baby boy turned three! Since when am I a mom of toddlers? Oh boy!

Well, this time Ryan told me he wanted a shark party, so I said "ok." Sure enough, no one really makes "shark" party items (except Oriental Trading, but what fun is that?) so I had to embark into my creative cabinets. Earlier I posted the invites I made, which I am proud of and everyone loved. I am glad, because most of the time my "creative" ideas turn into sloppy messes with good intentions, bad handwriting and misspelled words (see below). So here are a few ideas that are affordable for everyone to do! Use what you have, make what you don't, buy cheap, little items to help you along the way!


 For the chocolate shells I purchased 2 molds and 4 bags of melting chocolates from Hobby Lobby. Since I can use a 40% off coupon for each individual purchase I paid $1.26 for each mold and $1.96 for each bag of chocolate. So, for $11 all 15 RSVP-ed kids got a "chum bucket" full of chocolate.

The utensil jars are old canning jars I had in my cabinets, ribbon from a previous gift and the dividers are cut up cardboard. Total cost $.97 for the blue set of plastic ware from Wal-Mart.

I made "chum buckets" for the kids to fill when the shark piñata broke open. They loved it and the parents are glad the cups weren't too big! Well, I think anyway.

 Ah yes, the shark cake! I had fun with this one, and I honestly didn't know how it would turn out. I did some cake decorating in 4H when I was 13, and that was all. I earned a blue ribbon for everything I made. So did everyone else! For this I baked two 9x13 pans of chocolate cake. I traced a shark onto wax paper from a book Ryan had, then simply cut along the lines. I used the second cake to make the tail and fins. I used 3 store-bought icings (Pillsbury) to cover the whole thing and to make sure the fins would stay put. This was tricky because it was a warm day, so the cake wanted to come off onto the icing knife. Next time I will freeze the cake first to keep it in place and reduce crumbs in the icing. Although, you'd never be able to tell with the frosting spray paint I got! (Wal-Mart wedding cake aisle, $3 each). I added some blue and silver sprinkles (Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart) and voila! Ryan had his shark cake. A touch of crushed gram crackers and some shells for the final touch.

My husband and I made this sign from a page I saw on Pinterest. Yes, half this party was Pinsperation! And yes, like I said earlier, I can get spelling wrong, even after we thought we had "checked" it. Consession - try concession. Otherwise it was still cute! My hubs is talented when it comes to wood work, so this was all his doing. Cost? $0.














Some of the food we had was a chocolate fountain (a small one we've owned for a few years but never use), cheese, veggies and fruit and pizza. I bought a couple of pizzas a few weeks ago at Costco when they were on sale for $6. If you don't know Costco, then know that each of these pizzas can feed about 8 people each because they're massive!

We also had shark teeth (sliced cheese) and drinks. I made a Lemonade Shark Drink from lemonade and sprite. It was gone before the party was over. Among a few other personal touches, this was a great party and an inexpensive way to do it. We all had fun, the cake was all eaten up and nobody cared if I forgot a detail or misspelled a word. Yay! And on top of it all, Ryan loved every minute because he loves sharks.
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New Website

Okay, so for today I was able to get my new blog for photography up and running. To visit that site for further information, please click here for sweetauguststudios.com

I am still working on this blog and it's current problem. It appears that I may just have to start over with my posts. I apologize for any inconvenience regarding my Pins from Pinterest, or my avid readers!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry if you are having trouble viewing my pages. I recently attempted to switch over my blog to a current email and now I can't see any of the pictures I've uploaded. If this is your same issue, please be patient with me, as I am attempting to correct this ASAP! Thank you! 

Sweet August Studios

So, with many pictures of other people comes the need to protect my work. Can I call it work yet? Well, maybe or maybe not, but either way it is my work. So I knew I needed to create a watermark, which meant that I needed a name. 

Now, I am too stubborn to simply use my name, so after some thought and discussion with my husband I have settled on Sweet August Studios. The meaning of August is as follows: marked by majestic dignity or grandeur (Merriam-Webster). August is also my birth month. It is also summer time. I love summer. I love my birthday. I love the definition. And that is what makes it "sweet."

Thus, Sweet August Studios has been born! The next step is to create another page just for my pictures to keep this blog from getting too cluttered. That is not my plan for today.

Reading Through My House

So throughout the years I have gathered a library full of books that I've always intended to read. Many of which I have, while others collected well-intentioned dust. Most of these books are Christian material of the non-fiction nature, but not all of them. So my new goal as I finish one book, is to start a new book (and finish) that is already owned by myself. Free e-books and publications don't help, but for now I will start with my printed papyrus publications. So here I go - I just finished The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. A wonderful read, and most convicting. And now I have chosen a book that I started a few years ago but probably only got through the first few pages before something new and shiny came along - An Absolute Sort of Certainty: the Holy Spirit and the Apologetics of Jonathan Edwards by Stephen Nichols. Okay, I may have gotten in over my head. Edwards was a very eloquent and wordy man. Maybe I should've started with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Aside from that, I have felt a current need to know my God more and more, and to KNOW His word more and more. The topic of apologetics has had a recent resurgence in my life, and sometimes I actually can tell when God is dropping hints! As for accountability, I shall keep you updated with my reading status. Yawn, I know, but it's more for me than it is for you.

Has it really been nearly 8 months since my last update? Why yes, yes it has. Oh dear. Life got busy, and I got tired. Excuses, excuses, I know, but it's true! So why now, why today? Well, for one, school is cancelled due to extremely cold weather and unforeseen circumstances. Then you ask, "don't you homeschool?" Why yes, yes I do! Secondly, I have the cutest baby girl that simply needs to be shown off to the world. Then you ask, "don't you have Facebook?" Why yes, yes I do. So here we go:


Anna's 2 Month Old Pictures

 

A shot summer, a few birthday parties and trips to the zoo made for a busy and fun summer. Because Anna was so young and Tom used his vacation for paternity leave, we did not venture to the Jersey Shore. However, there will be a trip here in 2014!

  




  

Over this past summer hubs and I decided to homeschool our children. Right now only Ry is of school-age, so we figured starting with him is a good trial period. We joined Classical Conversations, a program with a classical education approach. We meet once a week with other kids who are doing the same curriculum and they get to "school" together. The rest of the week I get to be the principal, teacher, school nurse, lunch lady and janitor. So far I am really enjoying it, and I think Ry is too? As any homeschooling mom knows, there are days where you wonder if you're doing the right thing, if your child is learning and if you're really cut out to be their teacher. The truth is, sometimes kids don't want to do the classwork! Shocker, I know.
   But then there are days where they are absorbing everything, cuddling on your lap and asking to do more and learn more. They are excited to do whatever it is you've planned. I only get my children for 18 years, then they're gone. The rest of their life is away from home learning everything on their own. I love that I get to be a part of their life this way. And the season of homeschooling may come to an end before they reach middle school or high school - who knows? The Lord has specific plans for my children, and He may direct them in such a way where homeschool may no longer be the obedient thing to do. Like I said, who knows? The ONLY thing I know is, is when I graduated college I knew I was never going to be in school again. I was done! Four years later I'm enrolled in a vocational college for Medical Assisting. Okay, after graduating 7 months later as valedictorian I was truly done then. And now? Now I am not only teaching school, but I am pretty much going back to school all over again...from the beginning... Someone tell me I'm not nuts!



 Then came the hot Fall season and with it trips to the pumpkin patch, farms and enjoying our backyard before winter comes. For Halloween Ry and his BFF neighbor were pirates. Brooke and Anna were cupcakes. Adorable. Of course, that night it was cold. We ran from door to door and I barely got any pictures, but it was still fun!



 Over the summer I gained a leadership position with my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I am a discussion group leader, which basically means I lead discussions at my table. And by lead I mean chat. Let me tell you how hard it is to get about 8 women with babies and toddlers to start chatting... Not everybody talk at once! No really, we all talk at once. The hard part is stopping. And I love it. I remember being a new mother and hard it was for me. I didn't know what I was doing. I still don't, but I have a better idea of how to manage the chaos that can fill my life. I love these women, and I love being to help reach those mothers who might be hurting and needing a place to belong. Plus, we get free breakfast and childcare for 2 1/2 hours! So with this position simply comes a few more things that are added to my schedule. It brings more play dates, more friends, and more ladies who need help.



7 Months Old

   All the while Anna is just growing and growing. She is so happy. I truly love a happy baby. The only time she cries is in front of me, so no one is the wiser! I've had fun taking a few pictures (okay, a million pictures) of her and the kids. My love for photography has been reignited by my ability to purchase a new camera 2 years ago, and now a couple of new lenses and editing software. It's fun for me. It's my thing. So when you see 20 pictures of same thing, just smile and nod.

5 Months Old

 

Then came winter and Christmas! It was rather busy, but a fun time of course. Ry got the toy car he asked for (Jeep Powerwheels), Brooke got princess stuff, and Anna got her first doll. Ry gave Santa a big hug, while Brooke is still rather shy. She also doesn't like the Chic-Fil-A cow, and would only get so close to Cinderella when she had the chance. Ah, to be 2 years old again! And now, trying to remember just how hot some of our summer days were, I am sitting here in weather that is about -5 right now (not including wind chill), longing for those hot days again. It was so cold, in fact, that Tom's Green Truck just couldn't run anymore and he broke down on his way to the airport today. Thanks to a good friend and AAA, Tom got to work and Green Truck is tucked safely in our driveway awaiting a diagnosis. Yippy! And this, my friends, is what homeschool is all about. The planned day goes caput, and we spend the morning learning life lessons about cars and helping people when in need. We also got to look at planes take off using Ry's binoculars. 



 

Anna, Emalie and Brooke awaiting Christmas...apparently in a swim suit

Nana and her girls at Christmas

 

Now it's 2014, and I certainly hope to keep this blog rolling as much as Coloradoans are now rolling joints legally. Yes, that's happened in the last 8 months. Also, the Broncos had an AMAZING season! They broke all kinds of records and beat all kinds of teams. They won the AFC championship game and went to the Super Bowl! Ahhh, it was awesome. And then it was time for the kickoff...and the rest is record-breaking history! The only problem is that the history was made by the other team who was able to demolish our offense. We lost. Bad. It wasn't even a good game. And that sucks. Bad. I blame in on Joe Namath. He had the privilege of tossing the game coin. When the ref handed him the coin Namath tossed it super high. The only problem is that no one called heads or tails yet. That was probably the toss that would've set the game in the way of the Broncos. Instead, they had to re-toss, and the Seahawks won, deferred, and it was all over from there. The only thing that went the Broncos way was the safety the Seahawks scored against them. They were lucky it wasn't a touch down. And that was the first 12 seconds into the game. You get the idea.

Studio Amy Luna family portrait shoot