Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm not getting my Christmas cards out in time for you to get them before Christmas, so I wanted to go ahead and wish everyone a great holiday. Please don't forget the real reason we celebrate this time of year. Take time to read through the Christmas story (we usually read in Luke). Its especially neat for me to think about the birth of our Savior since we just gave birth to our own firstborn not too long ago. How must Mary have felt knowing what a special child she had born... wow! What a special person she must have been for God to have chosen her to carry His son. Again, we wish you the best during this special season and in the year to come!
Love,
Isaac, Lawana & Nate

All Smiles

Its gotten harder to catch Nate's smiles on camera. Even though the smiles are more frequent, he gets distracted by the flash and ends up with a curious look instead of the previous smile. However, this is a particularly good pix of him smiling. Isn't it the cutest smile?!? I know its getting late but I'm still hoping to take pictures of Isaac, Nate and I for our Christmas cards. Being a photographer, you'd think we'd be on top of our own pictures.... but no.

5 months old!

Nate had his first real attempt at eating on his 5mo birthday. I've given him little bits of bread and other small soft foods a few other times but this time I mashed up some banana with some breast milk and gave it a shot. Nate did alright... I think he got more on his hands than he did in his mouth... but all in all it was pretty good. We didn't make too big a mess, all things considered. His bib says IRS Deduction! Ha!

Indy had a huge snow storm last night. We got between 7-8 inches of snow in this area! Thats more than we usually get the whole month of December! Crazy!

Isaac and I would appreciate prayer as we continue together thru "The Lord's Table". It's an online course learning to create better view of food and eating habits, while learning to focus on Christ and turning to Him instead of food for comfort, etc. We're both seeing results physically and spiritually (after a week and a half) but have a long way to go before we've gotten past our old habits. If you are interested in the course its available (along w/ courses on other topics) at: www.settingcaptivesfree.com .

Eat Yer Foot!

This is a game my dad (Pop) played with all of us when we were kids and now we all play it with Nate. He loves to "eat" his feet! He's so much fun. He rolled over several times this morning! Though I think most of them were accidents!

S'bucks

Here are our friends' girls: Celia, Elizabeth, Catherine, Lydia and Anna at the grand opening of a Starbucks. We all enjoyed the free hot chocolate! Mmmmm..... good.



This is Cindy Wright's brother, Tommy Day. He was playing for the grand opening. He's a very talented musician. You can check him out at www.tommyday.com. I seem to be his un-official photographer... alot of the pix on his website are ones that I've taken. He's a really cool guy.



Nate was tired out from all the activity, and all the kisses from the little girls (he had chocoate on his face from them!). On our way home Nate fell asleep with his book leaning up against his face... it was so cute!

Roll Over... Roll Over

Here Nate is on his tummy, all smiling and happy.... But he has that look in his eye... he's getting ready for something... (can you tell that mommy tried to cut his hair.... its a mess... I'm gonna have to find someone to fix it.... but he's still cute - even w/ chopped up hair).


Here Nate is demonstrating how strong he's getting, pushing with both his arms and legs - smashing his face into the carpet... but what can ya do?


Ta Da! Nate has successfully rolled over onto his back! I know its a common every day baby thing.... but its cool!

Nake' Time!

Nate is starting to like having his clothes off. So now we play a little before he gets his bath. He is getting so big. He has rolled over a couple of times but always in bed, so we still have not actually seen him do it (unassisted anyway). We really have alot of fun with him. He is laughing now, but he makes us work for it.
I sprained my ankle a week ago. I'm feeling better, but its still pretty uncomfortable. I was very thankful that Isaac happened to be on vacation last week, so he was around to help me while I was laid up not being able to walk the first few days after the sprain. We had a nice week together.

Chicago Trip

Here are me and the girls (my sis Lauren, and my gal pals: Julie, Jess and Cindy) getting ready to ride the "L" in Chicago this past weekend. We all went to Chi-town to visit Cindy. We had a great time visiting and seeing the city. It was a beautiful day and we went to the Sky Deck at the top of the Sears tower, had a great view of downtown, then we went to the Art Institute. And we of course had to have some Chicago style pizza and chilidogs. Mmmm good!

Here is Nate being the life of the party at dinner Saturday night. We went to this Ethiopian restaurante near Cindy's house. Pix below shows the selection of food we had at our table. We got several meat entrees (when they say its spicy, they mean it!) and a couple side dishes (vegetable dishes and cheese) - all was served on this spongey bread. No silverware, we just used the bread to pick up and eat the food. It was cool. Not everyone was as into it as Cindy but we all enjoyed the experience.


Thanks to Cindy and her sister and their roomate for their hospiatality and for fixing me up when I sprained my ankle right before we left.

Cuteness

Here is a 4 month pix of Nate. Isn't he the sweetest thing? I wish I could capture more of his emerging personality. He's babbling and smiling so much now. He's responding and interacting with people more and more. I can't believe how active he has become. This is such an amazing time, watching every little change in his developement. We are so blessed by him!

Wedding

I did pictures for another wedding last week. The nicest couple - Brian and Kristen Talbert. I was really thankful that the weather stayed nice long enough for us to get some pretty outdoor shots - it stormed pretty bad later that evening.
I've got a few family pictures lined up before the holidays. I am really wanting to get some more professional equiptment but I don't know if/when I'll be able to afford what I want. But for now I'm doing the best I can with what I have. Don't forget I have a website now:
www.unforgettable-photography.com

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4 months old!

Now four months old, Nate and his daddy just chill on the couch. They are so cute together! You should see Nate's face light up in a big smile when Isaac comes home from work. Its really sweet!

This week the youth group had "Family Week" at Jeremy(youth minister) and Cindy's. It was a great time for the kids to build relationships. Nate got to help cook dinner for all those teenagers. I wish I could get the pix to load... it was pretty cute.

Fall Family Fun Festival

Isaac and Nate got their picture taken with Home Star Runner at our church's fall festival. Our pastor's wife, a sweetheart of a lady, emailed the whole church saying how cool it was to have "Lone" Star Runner at the party. I got the biggest kick out of that!

Dimples

I did some senior pix as part of the barter w/ the doula. Her son (the youngest of four boys) has the biggest dimples I've ever seen! He seems like such a nice guy. He wanted some of his pix done w/ his grandparents. Aw...
I've got another wedding gig coming up next weekend! And its not for anyone that I know already! This is a real, strangers coming to me for my services, job! I really hope it goes as well as the last one.
We're going to the lake this weekend... ah, looking forward to relaxing. Its supposed to be nice weather. Its rained almost every time we've been up there this year! Ew. Anyway, gotta run.

Wedding Pix

John and Jenny's wedding was simple and elegant. I was honored to be a part of it and felt that things went pretty well. I'm pretty proud of how the pictures turned out and I hope they like them as much as I do. Aren't they a cute couple? Aw...

This Week...

Thursday Deb, Dane, Isaac's cousin Jenna (she's 4yr) and Nate and I went to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County. We met up with some of my family. Grandma (my mom), Hannah and Kyle were at Billie Creek Village in Rockville reenacting a 1900s one room school house with some other home-school families. I have some of the greatest memories of doing that growing up. We've been going there during the Covered Bridge Festival for 10+ years now! Maybe Nate and I will go dressed up next year!


Nate and Daddy hard at work at the family business - Penrod Counseling Center. Somehow alot less work gets done when Nate is there... hmm... I can't imagine why! jk

Faces!

Nate has many of the cutest faces you'll ever see! Here are just a few of my favorites!

3 months old!

This past Saturday was Nate's 3mos b-day! He's grown and changed so much in such a short time! We've been so incredibly blessed by him already. Its hard to imagine our life without him.
Isaac and I went on a date without him for the first time a week or two ago. We put him to bed and left him with my sister, Lauren, while we went to a late movie. Of course we would go to "Flight Plan" - a movie about a woman who's child goes missing! It was a good movie, but nerve wracking! We were very happy to come home and see Nate safe and sound in his bed!

Also, Saturday was my friend Mia Bley's baby shower. Here, Mia is pictured with Sarah Patterson another girl from church who are both due in the next month or so. It was nice to get together and show our love and support to her. Our church has a baby shower game thats become a tradition now, where we video tape the father-to-be a series of questions before the shoer, then at the shower we ask the mother-to-be the same questions. After hearing the mom-to-be's answer to the question, the guests have to guess if dad's answer will be the same or different. Then we show the dad's response. Mia's husband Eric is an interesting guy and had some pretty comical answers. Its a fun game and helps you get to know the couple a little better which is cool.

Reflections

Look at how cute he is! He is really showing interest in his reflection now and getting into his toys more. He's doing great sleeping at night (most of the time) but his naps during the day aren't very regular. Some days he'll have a good long nap and be happy all day - others he'll have a whole bunch of cat naps and get cranky and tired. Oh, well we're still working out the kinks of this whole parenting thing... I think we'll be doing that forever, right? Anyway, I've had alot on my mind recently, pray for my patience and peace, I've been over-worrying lately. I have a hard time being open about my struggles... I feel like I need to put on a happy face all the time. I'm trying to work on that.

Sorry no pix

Hey I know at least one person has been to the blog and been disappointed at the lack of updated pictures. I'm sorry.... our computer is being weird and its not letting me upload to the blog right now. I'll have Isaac look at it soon and see what he can do - he's so much better than me at stuff like that.
Nate is doing well. He's growing cuter by the day. Smiles are becoming easier to get out of him and he's so responsive when we talk and play with him. Its so much fun to see him changing and see his personality starting to emerge.
I love you all and hope you're having a good day.

Go Cubs!

Here is our cute little family showing our team spirit. Aren't we all cute in our Chicago Cubs gear? Isaac's family is a bunch of die hard Cubs fans and they're trying to convert me. I'm not quite there yet.

Photoshop Fun

I was playing around on Photoshop and created these filmstrip collages. What do ya think? I like them. I'm still working out a few kinks but not too bad, eh? I have a wedding that I'm doing in October, I'm reading a book on how to pose couples and groups to prepare for it. I really really hope it goes well and we have good weather for some outdoor pix!

Cool Dude

Nate thinks he's a little stud in his shades! Surprisingly, he seemed to like having them on and was all smiles for mommy's camera! He's getting to be so much fun! Sometimes I have a hard time getting anything done during the day cause I just want to play with him all the time!

Smiles!

While we were at the lake relaxing this weekend (just the 3 of us) We had plenty of time to play with Nate. He is smiling much more often and its so much fun to try different things to see what he likes. He reacts to our voices and faces so much more, and he is gaining more control over his movements, pulling our hands closer to him when he wants to keep playing. So far he seems to like us more than he does toys... which is cool. We are very much enjoying our son and the joy he brings to our lives. What a sweetheart! Does he have the cutest smile you've ever seen or what?!?

First Farm Experience

Last week Nate and Jett got to "play" with Shania the miniature horse and the new baby goat on my parent's farm! They may not get too into it now but it won't be long before they love the animals! Aren't they so cute?!?

Bathtime!

Nate likes taking a bath. He enjoys the water. Isaac and I tag team when it comes to bathtime. One of us does the bathing, the other does the diapering and dressing afterward. Nate usually gets a little upset when his bath is over, he seems to want to stay in the water. We're hoping to get him into the lake this weekend if weather permits!

2 months old!

Well, Nate turned two months old on the 8th... He's grown and changed so much already. We're totally smitten with him to say the least. His personality is showing more and more. He can focus better and his eyes even follow people across a room sometimes. He's such a good natured baby, he's got me spoiled. We'll prolly have a holy terror next time!
I'm helping another photographer with a Crisis Pregnancy Center event on Tuesday. Pray that everything goes well. I met with her the other day and was really encouraged to hear that she started out alot like me - in her spare bedroom with no formal education, wanting to stay home with her son. With the $ from my next few gigs I'm gonna try to get a little more equipment. And Isaac is gonna help me set up a simple website soon. I'm really enjoying doing this and hope that it will someday be an actual side income instead of a hobby. We'll have to wait and see. :-)

Weekend

We went to the lake for a long holiday weekend. The weather was beautiful! Nate got to experience his first campfire and first boat ride. He was pretty cool about the awkward life vest for awhile but got tired of it and wasn't afraid to let us know that he'd had enough.

Nate's 2 month birthday is tomorrow... I'll have to break out my backdrops and take some more pictures! he he I still can't get over how amazingly cute he is. Omigosh... he is making so many new sounds and faces... aw, its adorable!

Shots

There is our growing boy! He's almost two months old and we're already putting him in some of his 3mos clothes!
Monday Nate had a doctor's appointment. He weighed 12 1/2 lbs! What a chubbster! I didn't know what the appointment would include - I thought it was just a check up. But we got surprised with him getting his first set of shots... we both cried. And the doctor didn't warn us that babies tend to cry alot, run a fever and sleep alot after getting shots. I wish they would have informed us a little better. Apparently its "widely known" that you're supposed to give your baby Tylenol just before getting the shots to minimize the discomfort and aftermath. Well obviously it wasn't widely enough known because neither Isaac or I had heard about it. Anyway, Nate is back to his usual happy-go-lucky self.

We're off to the lake again this weekend. We're hoping to take my siblings with us. We'll have to break out the tube when we go out on the boat! Whoo hoo!

Here is a pix of Nate and Jett, who is a month older. Aren't they a cute pair? Jett's hair stands up like a mohawk and his dad calls him Rooster!

Congrats Shan & Eric

Well, after weeks of planning and preperations Shannon and Eric's wedding went off without a hitch! Everything went very smoothly, looked beautiful and most imortant of all, Shannon seemed very pleased. We had a good turnout and everyone seemed to have a great time. I did the pictures and all in all I think I did ok for this being my first wedding gig (even if it was a freebie). Even though it stormed for awhile we were still able to get some great outdoor shots! Yeah! Here are a couple of my favorites.