Newborn Sneak Peeks

This sweet little baby girl is rocking the black/brown and white.  She was such a snuggling little girl after we finally got her to sleep.  She wanted to stay away for all the excitement.  Loving her pouty lips and her round little chin. 

Her daddy couldn't be there so he made a special trip home to drop off his wedding ring.  

Love the wrinkles in her forehead....

Adam's Little Buddy

A few weeks ago we went to Josh's baseball tournament.  Josh is our godchild and we like to attend as many of his games as we can and his tournaments are usually easier for us than weekdays.  Josh is becoming a very good ball player, his pitching has improved so much and his games are very exciting to watch.  Shawna has a hard time watching the game when behind her camera so I took her camera and burned up a few hundred photos for her.  When you are behind your camera during a 1st place showdown game you are focused on what moment you can capture and not really paying attention to the content of what's happening.  

On this day Adam was celebrating his 21st birthday and he chose to come watch Josh's games.  Josh holds a very special place in Adam's heart.  Jake, Jett, Elly, Garrett, Mallory and Max are certainly special to him but Josh holds that #1 spot.  His bond with Josh helps him to remember a special bond he had with his cousin Jason.  Jason died when Adam was 5 and the connection that those two boys had in those short 5 years was incredible.  Josh was the next child born in the Hemmer family after Adam.  The older Josh gets the more he wants to be just like Adam.  Jason taught Adam a lot of things and most important was the love those two shared.  

When someone from your family is gone it's hard to believe that you can think of them everyday but it's true.  My mom and Jason have been gone for many years and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of both of them for some reason or another.    While taking these photos I was just capturing moments in time..... since it wasn't my camera I didn't get to see them until Shawna sent me these.  While looking at them tears welled in my eyes to know that Jason's love is being carried through within Adam's heart and will grow between him and Josh.  

Josh had a troubled inning of pitching and who was there to give the pep-talk?

Even when words weren't shared between them.....

The bond remains strong.... even in front of all the other boys.  

Miss G Sneak Peek

Miss G came back for her 1 year photos.  She really grew and is such a climber.  Mom was worried about her sitting still for a few photos.... I now know why.  She is a mover, a climber, a shaker...... but simply adorable.  

And simply perfect in black and white photos.  They were made for her.

She's not walking yet but climbing on her chair she's got that down pat.  

Little Cowboy Sneak Peek

This little boy was the cutest thing ever.  He loves to wear his cowboy boots and jeans.  It was a super hot day and he didn't mind one bit.

Loving the light and the love between them.

He didn't want momma kissin' him in front of the camera so we used his hat to shield it..... mom had the same thought that I did and pulled back just in time to capture the moment.

Besides wearing his boots and jeans he usually has his hat on and no shirt.  It took a bit of talking but he did it just for me.  Mom wanted to remember these days..... we all know they grow up way too fast.

Thank you Little Cowboy for letting me talk you into preserving those special memories for your mom.  Some day you will treasure these photos as much as she does.

Miss M at 9 months + Sneak Peek

Miss M was back for some 9 month photos and she was great even in the heat.  

Miss M was starting to get a bit fussy so daddy played a little airplane with her not knowing that I was still snapping photos. 

Miss M in a little sepia, she's so darn cute.

Jazzed Up Junk in Action

The last two days were simply amazing.  The gals and guys that came out in the triple digit heat wave to attend our Jazzed Up Junk sale are true treasure hunters.  I can't begin to describe the first few hours of the sale, they were touching to me and something I will never forget.  The ohs, ahs and wonderful comments from all of you is truly rewarding.  The response and adrenaline that surrounded us has already caused the plan for Jazzed Up Junk 2nd Addition.  

For those of you that waited patiently for 4:00 in the dreaded heat on the steamy hot blacktop, thank you.  Those of you that had to park so far away and walk in the dreaded heat, thank you.  Those that found treasures, thank you.  For all you crafters/artist that came to browse for ideas, thank you for the compliments.  For all the e-mail and phone calls I received last night and this morning from many of you with such kind words, thank you.  It may seem funny to you but I am speechless, I love you all.

During the first hour I forgot or didn't have time to grab my camera for a photo but as I took a break (snuggling a sweet baby under the shade tree) I snapped a photo just to remember the moment.   

 Last night as we're trying to fit a chair in someone's car (it didn't fit) John says "this is your next vehicle"

Vacation day, empty truck and crazy blondes.......Jazzed Up Junk is already shopping for the 2nd addition.

1 more day

Here is a shot of the garage with everything jammed in.  This was taken on Sunday and I just hauled another truckload over tonight....   Take a quick peak around and make note of all the fun stuff.   It's going to be a super hot day but these cool colors will make it worth the stop.   

Jazzed Up Junk starts Wednesday afternoon and again all day Thursday, see you there.

High School Senior Sneak Peek

Austin's day started out pretty rainy but shortly after we started the sun came out and it got hot.  It was a perfect day for lots of fun senior shots.

And of course I talked the family into a quick family shot.  Mom wasn't too keen on the color ranges they were all wearing so I assured her that I would fix that.  Changing to sepia makes it a beautiful photo they could display in their home.

More Jazzed

This weekend was one full day of photoshoots and more jazzed up junk finishing touches.  I'm sure the moms won't mind if they don't see their peaks tonight as long as their is sneak peaks of jazzed up junk.  The first mom of the day was wishing she had a bigger car or a trailer with her to buy as much stuff as John was trying to sell her.  As I took photos of her son she window shopped the jazzed up junk and then when he brought her in the house and started selling MY furniture I was happy she didn't have room in her SUV, my house would have been empty.  

The next two mom's can't wait for Wednesday for the sale to start.  This is not your everyday Garage Sale, this is a unique sale that you can't miss.  Today we got everything together in Jeannie's garage.  She told Ed that he would have to park one of the trucks outside but the other truck could still park in the garage until Wednesday......... well both trucks are sitting outside and there is so much personality in that garage I wanted to sleep in there tonight.  

If you're looking to decorate your patio, sun porch, or even your house with fun personality this is the sale to see.  

Wednesday 4-8, Thursday 8-4 

13 and O intersection turn to the east and it's the second house on the right.  Now two peaks.

More Jazzed Up Junk

How about more Jazzed Up Junk photos?  I have all the painted, planted, sanded stuff as my speciality but Jeannie has all the furniture, fabric, beaded stuff at her house.  I haven't taken my camera over there yet but I will this weekend so I can show you some of the cool porch type decor we have going on.  

Loving this sedum bird bath planter with hurricane lantern for night time enjoyment by the fire pit.  If you've never light candles in hurricanes on your patio at night you don't know what you're missing.  We have lots of them scattered around the yard, it's a beautiful site.  They're not just for weddings anymore!!

Below the birdbath is a wildflower adorned box that seriously was the ugliest thing I ever in my life created.  I couldn't believe that I wasted a perfectly good wood box...... it was ruined, it was gross, it made me swear.

So I took my favorite garage tool and was determined to get every spec removed and start over.  After lots of elbow grease and 3 sanding pads later this box is absolutely beautiful.  It can be used on the patio as a planter or on the porch as a remote control holder, who doesn't hate the 5 remotes that the guys need laying out in the open.  This will hide them and make a great conversation piece.  Bright colors in the garden and the sun porches screams summer.  My living room gets a burst of apple green every summer and looks totally different than the drab days of winter.  Find a fun bright color and splash it everywhere.  Better yet come to our sale and find your inspiration piece and we'll help you build off it.

We are less than 1 week away and the response Jeannie and I have gotten is over whelming.  We may just have a prize for the person that drives the longest distance.  This could become on addiction...... not that I don't have enough of them already, what's one more??

On the right side of the photo you can see a slight glimpse of another sedum type birdbath.  I am seriously having a hard time letting that go, after a bit of painting, welding, torching and planting it's been with me for most of the summer and I've become attached.  One lucky gardener will be very pleased to own her.

See you all soon {wink, wink}

Are You My Mother?

John was getting yelled (tweeted) at while mowing lawn yesterday and today he found out why.  Of course I needed to make her mad tonight while I snapped a few photos.  That baby doesn't look real happy with me either.   I love the book "Are You My Mother?", I think I read it a hundred times to Miss El.

Troubles and Jazzed up Junk

I'm having computer troubles tonight so here's a quick photo of some fun garden jazzed up junk.  This has been decorating my patio for a few weeks now and I'm gonna be kinda sad to watch it go.  Whoever will be the new owner is going to love it, it makes me smile everyday.  

Mark your calendars for July 20th 4-8 and the 21st 8-4.  If you have a blah patio, deck, sunporch, family room or kitchen you will find all kinds of fun stuff to jazz it up. 

strength

This word had two meanings for me today.

Strength - something I lost very quickly in the last 9 days, those damn weights were heavy this morning and it didn't help that the instructor thought we needed to do 50 reps for every lift that she could dream up.  Along with crazy jumping jacks and lunges until one of the girls screamed "Oh my poor legs".  I think she was on a mission to make us pay for those summer legs we all dream of.  

Strength - something I needed in the first 10 minutes back to work after their 1 week of freedom without me.

Our staycation is over

What a fabulous week we had, it was beautifully hot weather and lots of sunshine.  My favorite type of staycation is HOT weather, get up early...... well not quite as early as I usually do but of course my eyes popped open at 5:15 every morning.  Just wait till tomorrow morning when I have to get up for boot camp again, it's amazing how fast our bodies slide back into pre-fit heavy sluggish mode.  When we got up it was breakfast outside, working around the house and bumming in the afternoon. 

My sister-in-law and I are working on a Jazzed Up Junk Sale in 10 days so many of my hours were spent buying, painting, pounding, planting, sanding, waxing, staining...... junk.  We have so much stuff and it's all so cool I want to keep everything.   I will share some photos with you soon.  Everyone who comes over can't wait for the sale..... it's going to be so fun, we love transforming junk but our houses are getting full so it's time to share with others.  

Now for a photo.  

Just in case he wasn't close enough for you to see his polka dotted body.... how fun to have a polka dotted body.

We should get back to the regular scheduled program this week.  Thank you all for coming back to check.

Fireworks

All of us were together at the park last night to watch the fireworks.  With the grandkids getting older we had multiple reactions.  Elly wanted to be Miss Social and visit with everyone but us "it's not pitch black yet Grandma", Garrett couldn't wait for the fireworks and after the first one he cried to go home.  He spent the hour snuggling with Momma and his key (blankey), Mallory ohhhh'ed and ahhhhhh'ed for the entire hour, and Max flinched for the first one and fell asleep in Courtney's arms.  It was a beautiful display of fireworks along with Adam's truck lights flashing multiple colors with each boom.

Happy 4th of July

 Country radio streaming out the speakers, flip flops our only shoes for the next week, morning spent relaxing on the porch and jeep rides every afternoon.

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July