Life is Good . . .

. . .  when you're five and you catch a fat toad.

Life is not so good when you're less than a year old and get picked up by a screaming monster and then squeezed and dunked alternately for an hour straight.

Poor toad.  Dive deep next time you see a trembling little boys' hand come reaching for you into the depths of your muddy pond.

Peach Blossoms

My soul comes alive this time of year as blossoms are pushed out of their tightly squeezed homes, bursting forth in bright whites, strong yellows and fragile pinks.  Hints of green on leafy trees are tempting my senses.  And what is that warm blanket I feel on my suddenly naked toes?  Could it be full sunshine, finally tired of its long game of hide-and-seek?  Drink, thirsty soul!

My thoughts of gratitude will never cease when I see this spring beauty from my front window.  Likely from a thrown-out peach pit, this scraggly tree clings on the edge of a steep bank at the edge of our lawn.  Three years ago, David and I spent hours trying to extract our yard from the encroaching briars and and overhanging trees of the woods and bank.  Long story short, my worn-down husband ended up hospitalized with pneumonia after prolonged fatigue of life.  Our dear neighbors came up to the house to send us off to the ER, and quietly asked which trees we wanted to save along the bank.  The only one I really wanted was the pink, barely-blossoming stick we'd recently unearthed.  We had no idea what it was at the time.  After several scary days at the hospital, we came home and found our bank cleaned out except for that beautiful twig, now in full blossom.

Since the spring of 2008, my husband's health has improved dramatically  And that twig of blossoms has grown enough to require vigorous pruning, and even then is heavily weighed down with fruit in summertime.

God is good.  All the time.

Happy Hearts Day

Hope your day was happy and filled with love.

Ashlock Family, Part I

(Playing catch-up here.)

Our dear friends Ryan and Laura visited us last summer.  We had precious little time together, and so we crammed as much as we could into our days.  A snippet of our time included a photo shoot with their beautiful girls.  With Laura's coaching, here are some of the shots we got:

(Part II coming as soon as I can get it on here!)

Typewriter

Sometime ago, Mama gave Sophia a mechanical typewriter.  You would have thought she'd hung the moon! The stories, letters, cards, and experiments that have rolled off this old tool have provided endless hours of entertainment.  A few of the jewels have landed themselves in the keepsake box.

Free textures courtesy of the electric typewriter, also known as the internet.  When I remember where I found them, I'll let you know!  Big thanks to my hubby, who helped me figure out how to add the textures to my photos.  And if you see them showing up on every picture from here on out, let me know that that is NOT okay, that pictures can stand alone without a texture added.  Even if it IS fun to add them.

Baby Genevieve, Again

A few more shots of Genevieve, with her mommy:

Genevieve has the most luscious skin, and her eyes are so clear and just starting to focus:

Genevieve gets a bath in the most awesome stone sink.  Oh, did she love that warm water!

Baby Genevieve

Before Genevieve was born, her grandmother asked me to capture her much-anticipated grandbaby.  Nine days after her birth, I met Genevieve and her mommy and daddy, Nathan and Jessica.  The heat was cranked up in their home, props were hauled up into the loft, and the capture began.  

Genevieve is a precious baby girl, and so obviously adored by her mommy and daddy.  What a delight to catch her newness and wonder, and her parent's love of her.

Thank you, Lynda, for asking me to do this, and Nathan and Jessica for allowing me into your home to play with your baby.  I pray God blesses you richly in your new role as parents and grandparents.