Bittersweet

Just wanted to journal a little. We've been adjusting to Jason not being here. It's hard not having your partner around to help with all the little things. My mom has really been a HUGE help. I think I would have had to put my business on hold if it weren't for her. She's here at least 2 days a week and then she comes after too so I can do afternoon sessions. I also have help from my neighbor Sarahann - she comes once a week to watch Murphy and then the other times I am usually keeping him. We make it work. My Pop has been cutting the grass for us - and brother helps too. We are so blessed to have our family and friends.

We went swimming at my granny's house this week - Murphy loves the water and enjoys splashing. He wants to just go and swim all by himself. I love playing with him and taking him to do fun things, I just hate Jason is not there with us - it's bittersweet. He got his first tooth this week and there again it's so exciting to see these milestones and new changes, but it would be ten times better if Jason were here too. I've realized how much I depend on him for so many things. I really don't think I will take him for granted anymore. Be thankful for those that serve our country and miss out on their families lives.

We do get to see other from time to time on the web cams. That's a great invention. Jason gets to watch Murphy crawling around and clap his hands. It's the best thing! I'm glad they are able to see one another.

We also celebrated Misti's (my sis n law) birthday Wednesday at Ricatoni's and my brother's bday will be Monday - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YALL!

Hope you all have a great week.

Jason is There.

Murphy went to Murphy Bros a few weeks ago to see his Papa in action. Papa had a special jacket made for him with his name on the front and the Murphy Turf Farms logo on the back. So cute.

Thank you all so much for the prayers and support during this difficult time. I hope the time goes by fast. It's hard without your helper around. He's the one I could count on to "hand me this and that and run go get"...you know when you have a baby your hands are full. So I miss the little things, but I just mostly miss him. Pray for his safe return.

Summer is almost here and we are looking forward to spending some time at the pool. Murphy loves the water. We took him to the Marriott and let him swim for the first time before Jason left and it was great. He's a natural swimmer.

I will try to keep you all posted on Jason and how he's doing. I know he made it there and is doing fine. Just trying to adjust to 110 degree weather, sandstorms and the time difference (8 hrs ahead)

Cost of Freedom...

Hey Friends.

Hope you all are doing well. I have some news that I wanted to share. I've actually known about this for a while, but have been hesitant to talk about it. Jason (my husband) will be leaving in May for a 5 month deployment to Iraq. We knew this would always be a possibility with him being in the military - I just wish he wouldn't have to miss the 2nd half Murphy's first year. He'll miss so much - crawling, walking, first birthday - you know all those firsts that you can't ever get back. Dads and moms all over our nation sacrifice so much to serve our nation. They miss baseball games, little league soccer, dance recitals and just simply getting to tuck their kids in bed at night. So tonight, after you've had a long day and your kids have been driving you crazy, be glad you were there to witness their life, their day, their tantrums and their smiles. We take for granted these things until they are taken from us.

THANK YOU MILITARY FAMILIES FOR YOUR DAILY SACRIFICE!

Pray for our family! I have a lot of family and friends here to support me. My mom is such a big help with Murphy and I've got people that are willing to stay here with me when I need company. I believe in the power of prayer and I know God will watch over us and bring our family back together. These will be challenging months, but I have faith that it will make us stronger and more appreciative of each other.

MARCH is half over....

Yet again another month is here and I am just now getting around to blogging. Murphy is doing well. Getting bigger - he weighs almost 15 lbs now - which is huge for us because he started out so small and took forever to gain weight. Everyday it amazes me at how much he is learning and all the new milestones he meets. He's rolling over and gibber gabbering alot. He says momma or something that sounds like it. I have it on video if you don't believe me...haha (see video below)He loves to go strolling and his favorite cartoons are Blues Clues and Wonder Pets (to be honest I like the wonder pets just as much as he does) he laughs out loud when they are on. He also loves Moose on the Noggin channel.

This has already been a busy month. I had some new cabinets and desk built for the studio, Jason had his 30th Birthday, and my mom had a bday as well. So lots of celebrating going on here. I'm going to get those pics on here ASAP. I'm so bad about downloading pics from "little camera."

Here are some new pics. We will be taking 6 month pics next week.

It's February?!?!

I can't believe February is already here and Valentines Day is just a few days away. I am having so much fun with Murphy he is really growing. His new favorite thing is his exersaucer. He loves being able to stand and turn around and look at the fun things to play with. He is sleeping through the night and take a nap in the afternoon for about 3 hours - which is really nice for me too! I love having some free time to clean house, do laundry, get a shower and work in the studio - I guess you wouldn't call that "free time" more like less distraction time. Haha.

He's not rolling over yet. He sure does get close though. Any day now I feel like he take will his first roll. Then I'll have to watch him even more closely - strap him down to the changing table...haha.

Here are some new pics of Murphy. I am planning on taking some Valentine pics this week. He's probably getting tired of me taking his pic all the time. I think Jason and I are going to the Marriot in Florence for a night and just getting of the house for a change. I am looking forward to that.

It's All NEW To Me

Hope you all had Merry Christmas - Murphy with Santa at the Fire Deptartment Christmas Party.

Happy New Year!

Well this year started off pretty well for our family. We visited some of our family in Birmingham and to ring in 2009. We also stayed at the fabulous Marriott at Ross Bridge. If you haven't been there I highly recommend it - it's beautiful! We are planning to go back in the summer so we can soak up some sun at there awesome pool! Anyway, I hope you all had a great holiday and enjoyed being with your children. We had so much fun with Murphy Alan, even though he's just a baby, we bought a few little gifts for him. We are looking forward to many more!


With a new year comes a lot of new things to consider. Some of us make resolutions - mine are very simple. I want to serve God and give Him the glory in all that I do. This is something that we sometimes forget. We get caught up in "look what I did" or "I'm successful because of what I've done" when really all our blessings are from Him. Praise God for all he has given!


I have a lot of NEW things to share with you. I'm a new mom as most of you know so I'm learning how to juggle work, wife and motherhood. I work from home so I sometimes get distracted with Murphy inside and me outside working. My mom and husband keep him, but I still want to be with him so I catch myself checking in on him quite a bit. My schedule is new because of trying to juggle who can keep can Murphy. I will only be working one Saturday a month. So if you need an appointment please plan ahead and let me know. Another NEW is props. I am starting to shop around for some new props to use in the studio. With the space I have here I sort of have to be smart about what I buy and keep. Also please know that you are always welcome to bring props from home - it's always nice to have something sentimental in the shots.


I will post more later on some new products and new services we may be offering in the spring and summer.


Here are some pics from the Holidays - as well as our Christmas Card and my Mom's Christmas Card too! Quite funny!











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Just Can't Help Myself

Murphy is finally getting bigger (10 pounds)and growing into his outfits that I've been waiting for him to wear. I love hats! He has pretty blonde hair, but I love hats on him for some reason. Probably because it's the only accessory available for boys. Girls have some many options of bows, jewerly and waaay cute clothes - but boys sort of get stuck with plain outfits - so I have to spruce him up with a hat every so often. Now that he's in these outfits that I love so much I can't help but take his picture. This is already getting out of hand - but I don't care - it's so much fun. We spent most of Wed before Thanksgiving doing Murphy's 3 month session. He's not 3 mo yet, but I am trying to get something together for a Christmas card. I'm sure I'll take more in a couple weeks when he's actually 3 months. I realize that I put his pics on the site a lot, but there again, I can't help myself. I want everyone to see my sweet baby! Forgive me : )

Thanks Misti for helping with the pics of our family.

Check out more of Murphy's pics on the website - his password is murphy.

We've been really busy here, just trying to get orders in for Christmas and such. We will be taking a break from Dec 22- Jan 5 for the holidays. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Good luck shopping and fighting the crowds. I think I'm going to be doing a lot of online shopping this year - baby and shopping just don't mix right now.