Heidi Stone Blog

Hello? Is this thing on?

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:53:00 +0000

I started blogging years ago. Back when I had far fewer children, much more time, and many more functioning brain cells. I blogged about recipes, homemaking, Christianity....life. And then I started my business. At first I only blogged business sessions. Then I heard suggestions that I should blog about myself too so that my clients can get to know me before they book a session. I tried that, but honestly, it was hard to find a balance. I didn't want my clients to know everything about me or I figured they would never book a session at all! ;)

Now I'm back to being business-free. With more children, perpetually less time than I had the day before, and.....not many functioning brain cells.

(Coffee boosts that a little bit - or at least masks it - but I still don't think I can completely pull the wool over anyone's eyes on that one.)

When I announced the closing of my business, I stopped blogging client sessions and made the decision to keep my business blog address (this one) and turn it into a personal blog for a few reasons:

1. There was nothing in the title that would infer that this a business blog. I'd like to pretend I'm awesome like Ana White and just named my blog after myself due to that awesomeness. (Because she IS. Awesome.) But in reality, I only originally labeled it HeidiStoneBlog.com because HeidiStonePhotography.com was already in use for my business website.

2. I had just paid for a 2-year renewal on this web address. And I'm cheap. Somehow it seems like a better use of money to just use the address I already have than to let it go completely to waste.

All that to say, here I am. And what I'm wondering now is.....am I talking to myself? Has anyone actually followed me around from blog to blog over the years? Do only my close friends read this blog? Do my close friends even read this blog? Mom? Anyone?

SO. If you would be so kind, would you mind leaving just a one-word comment below to let me know I have some sort of readership?

I mean, I know there are like....at least two of you. Website traffic reports are only so accurate. Even if I have no readers, I'll still keep blogging. But you know, I'm just curious.

In The Hard Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 05:26:00 +0000

Distractable

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:20:00 +0000

I would certainly label myself as easily distracted. Occasionally this can be a good thing, but overall it's just not. This afternoon started out as normal. I put the younger kids into their naps and hopped onto my computer to check Facebook before heading back downstairs. After ~~a few minutes~~ half an hour, I realized I should probably get on with my day. I switched the laundry and pondered how old my (now seven-year-old) son would need to be in order to send him a mile up the street, across a busy intersection and to McDonald's to buy me a Coke. My mind decided on "older", which was all that really mattered.

When I got downstairs, I realized that I needed to photograph one more set for my sister-in-law's maternity album. This particular set includes chocolate. (What maternity album would be complete without a picture of chocolate?) So I reached up above our sink to find our s'mores goodies stash. My hands found no chocolate, so I grabbed a chair and heaved myself up there to see what was up.

I did find the chocolate, which seemed soft. (I've noticed that before in that cabinet. I think it must be our fluorescent light underneath or something.) But I also noticed marshmallows.......

Which were promptly made into Rice Krispie treats and gobbled up.

And this is why my kids say I look like I have a baby in my belly all the time.

The end.

Bye Bye, Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:56:00 +0000

As if I needed a final goodbye to my business, last week we tore down the wall which we had built 3 years ago to create my small studio.

In May of 2009, here's what we made:

It was a cute little room and it served its purpose quite well over the past few years. It even lived through a total floor renovation.

Here's the view from the kitchen:

It was a little tight, even with our table going leafless in the above picture. I was getting a little crazy with the tiny size of our kitchen. I mean, it's not that it's that tiny, but we do have seven people eating around that table multiple times a day. So in that regard, it was pretty cramped.

Anyway, last Saturday evening we took down the wall. It was constructed in such a way that it really wasn't all that difficult. The bottom had been glued to the concrete floor and the top and sides were secured with screws. My husband always joked about how unsecured the wall really was, but I kind of laughed when I realized that he was kind of serious about that.

It didn't take us long to bring down the wall.

As soon as it was down, I felt a rush of freedom fall over me.

I was getting my open floorplan back! And I didn't even know how much I had missed it!

(Please ignore my insanely messy kitchen. It was a Saturday. And clean kitchens and weekends just don't mesh well around here.)

We're smart folks, so we do this kinda thing barefoot.

Anyway, after we pieced it up and dragged it out to the garage, I was left with this:

YAY!!! I can see into the kitchen from the far side of the living room now!

We obviously need to insert another row of laminate there and fix up the ceiling a bit, but that'll be coming one of these ~~days~~ weeks. For now, I am perfectly content with my almost-back-to-normal kitchen. :)

And I'll be sure to post pictures when it really IS back together.

The Best Part

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:24:00 +0000

A garage sale.
Why on earth would I think that having a garage sale with five kids running wild would be a good idea?

Oh wait, I know. Because our freezer is crap and we need to buy a new one and because it seems more fiscally responsible to sell our junk to other junk-seekers in order to get money to buy a new freezer rather than just donate it and take a loss.

So as I ran our garage sale today, I considered what the best part of having a garage sale could be. And I think I've figured it out.

The best part of having a garage sale is.....

~~making $50 for all your hard work.~~

~~coming inside to find the unimaginable mess your kids were able to create in less than six hours.~~

~~closing up shop just before a big rush of would-have-been potential buyers arrive at your neighbor's garage sale.~~

~~wishing you were drinking a fountain Coke but realizing that you can't go get one because you're running a garage sale.~~

~~going to the neighbor's garage sale and buying things to put in your house that will probably be in your garage sale next year.~~

Well.....I thought I had figured it out.
I'll keep you posted on that.

Keepin' It Real: My Shower Is Neglected

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:39:00 +0000

I have always hated cleaning the shower. And let me tell you why:
Because I never clean it.

I know how that sounds. And I know what you're thinking. And you're right.
But it's just. so. hard. when I hate doing it so much.

So anyway, today after my shower I thought to myself how maybe if I cleaned it right after my shower while the bathroom was all steamy and everything was already wet - maybe THEN it wouldn't be so stinking hard to clean.

So I grabbed some baking soda, sprinkled it around and then, figuring THIS time would be so much easier than all those OTHER (three) times I've cleaned my shower, I went to grab some vinegar.

So vinegar and baking soda are pretty standard cleaners for me around here. I use them in all sorts of cleaning concoctions alongside sea salt, lemon juice, and a few other miscellaneous ingredients. But again, THIS time would be so much easier. So I just grabbed the vinegar. And some paper towels.

I sprayed the vinegar onto the baking soda and watched it fizzle up like that volcano experiment you do in third grade. Then I got to scrubbing.

I was surprised how quickly things seemed to be improving, but there was still a LONG way to go before shower perfection was to be reached. After a few minutes, I recalled that some people (probably most) use a rag for cleaning their home.

I have always considered the idea of using a rag to clean, say, my toilets.....really disgusting.
I'm sorry, but I have. And if you clean your toilets with a rag, by all means, carry on. But it's just not for me.

However, seeing as I was working in the shower, I thought this would be acceptable so I called for my ~~servant boy~~ son to bring me a rag and set to work with that.

WOAH.

What the heck? Is this seriously the only thing I have needed all these years to make my shower look amazing?

I feel so ashamed and (eh hem) a little stupid for not knowing the power of a rag over paper towel when cleaning! The simple combination of baking soda and vinegar seemed to be helping a lot too - and I did start straight out of the shower (though it was pretty much dry by the time I actually started scrubbing) - so I can't say for sure what the clincher really was, BUT....

I am super-dee-duper happy that my shower is cleeeeeeeeeeaaaan!!

And to prove it, here's a crappy iPhone picture:

Just pretend it's a good picture, would you?
Thanks.

And now, I must ask....
Does anyone know if it was the rag power or the volcanic activity that actually did the trick?

Indiana Dunes

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Last month we visited Indiana Dunes for the first time ever.

It was.....pretty awesome. Living in Indiana, the land of NO STINKING WATER, has been a little difficult for me over the years. I grew up in western Wisconsin where we have just as many lakes as Minnesota but without the awesome state catch phrase. In fact, when I first moved here, I asked my husband where they swam. And do you know what he said??

The pool.

LAAAAAAAAME.

So anyway, in case you haven't ever been to Indiana, I'm just warning you now. Don't bother looking for a lake to swim in. Because there are like....two. In the WHOLE. STATE.

But back to vacation...

We arrived at the beach around lunchtime on the weekend of the 4th of July. Possibly not the best planning, but thankfully Lake Michigan is pretty big so we still fit. It was gorgeous.

And also, it was 8000 degrees with some thin clouds in the sky. So we put on sunscreen.

We set up camp and attempted to create a makeshift tent canopy thing using our stroller, towels, and several random "weights" like our cooler and large sticks found at the end of the sand.

We're high class people.

The whole canopy thing really didn't work, so then I just resorted to covering up my babe's skin as much as possible by keeping him in the shade of a towel.

We spent several hours in the sun - though we had no idea exactly how many hours because we had left all our electronic devices in the van to bake. So after...um, a while....we decided we should probably consider heading home. But of course, the kids had been dying to run up the giant sand dune behind us, so we figured we'd better oblige or else face unbearable amounts of whining all the way back to van and until they passed out on the way home.

(I'm just kidding. We have good kids. Sort of.)

We walked across the sandy beach to get there and by the time we reached the bottom of the dune, I was ready for a large Coke and a barn fan in my face.

Once I caught my breath, I realized that the pictures I had seen online simply didn't do this place justice. And I know mine don't either. You really have to SEE it to...um....see it. It's pretty incredible.

The kids, having an endless supply of energy, ran up right away. And then I waddled my way up after them, figuring the view was probably much cooler at the top.

It wasn't.

No, I'm just kidding. It was cool. But probably not worth the 8 gallons of sweat I deposited in the sand on the way up.

To commemorate the event, I took 110 pictures of the kids all grouped together. (I know, I know. But it's the curse of the digital era.) They pretty much all looked like this:

So I'm not going to show you the other 109.
It just seems like the right thing to do.
You're welcome.

I don't really remember much about going back down the dune. I think I might have just rolled my chubby self all the way to the bottom. At any rate, I thought it would be fun to take pictures of the kids coming down, so I forced them to wait until I made it and was poised and ready.

(I've always kind of hated that phrase. "Poised and ready.")

So they started running. And I started photographing.

They seemed to have a much better time doing this than I did. But again, I don't really remember. I think the sand burnt through my feet and all the way up my body to my brain cells.

When the kids reached the bottom, Keaton said that he had thrown his flip-flops at some point running down, so I sent him back up to look for them. He found one. ONE.

*sigh*

While he was searching, I took a picture of a seagull. (Lake gull?)

And then they closed the beach due to "dangerous conditions". So we left.

The end.

Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:04:00 +0000

My little man is growing up so quickly - more quickly than ever, it seems as of late. He can stand like a pro and has taken a step here or there, but he's still just *this close* to walking. I know it will come sooner or later. Probably at the least possible convenient time. Because let's face it, that's just how kids are.

Riley LOVES bathtime. (He also loves crawling into the bathroom and attempting to climb his way into the tub - a feat which he could probably pull off if it wasn't for his mommy's watchful eyes.)

This particular bath was given late at night after a post-bedtime poopy diaper was discovered and a rash had formed. Poor little guy. He doesn't look like he seems to mind being up so late though. The little turd.

*Sigh*

I just love him.

No Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:05:00 +0000

This girl knows no fear.
She is a climber, a jumper, and a dancer. She is STRONG.

And she is almost five.

*sniffle*

(These pictures were taken at Fair Oaks Farms, a fantastic little place right smack dab in the middle of Indianapolis and Chicago. I highly recommend visiting.)

Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:41:00 +0000

These pictures make me happy.
I like the simple things in life.

I'm Closing My Business

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:57:00 +0000

After months of deliberation within my own heart, I have decided to close my photography business.

I am so thankful for those of you who have supported me over the past four years. It has been such a pleasure getting to know each of your families. I am sad to be leaving behind a business in which I have invested so much time and energy, but I'm excited to see what lies ahead for our family. I am grateful to have had the support of my husband and children as I carefully carved out time for my clients and my business, but I am now even more grateful to have the opportunity to serve them wholeheartedly.

If you're wondering about upcoming sessions, here are the details....

- If you already have a session scheduled for this summer, I will still be photographing you! Everything will proceed as normal. :)

- If you have been wanting to schedule a session for this summer but haven't done so yet, the deadline for scheduling will be THIS SUNDAY, JULY 15TH. I will be photographing sessions until AUGUST 15TH.

- If you have in your possession a gift certificate that has not yet expired, please get in touch with me regarding your upcoming session. I want to be sure you are taken care of. :)

Again, thank you all for your encouragement, support, and patronage. I wish you the best!

On This Date, One Year Ago...

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:15:00 +0000

...this happened.

And my life has never been the same since.

Happy Birthday to our amazingly sweet baby boy, who brings us joy and laughter every day!
We love you, Riley!

I Got The Bug

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I really don't know why I don't photograph my own children more. I guess I'm just preoccupied with cooking and cleaning and bill-paying and business-owning and homeschooling (though we're on summer break now - YEEEESSSS!!) and grocery list-making and, of course, photographing other people's children. But really, I have no excuse. They are here ALL. THE. TIME.

Literally here. Often on my lap. Or biting at my toes. (Ok, only one of them does that.)

This week I got the sewing bug, so I sewed up a couple of new dresses for my girls. They are EVER so in love with dresses, so I thought they would find my sewing bug quite exciting.

And they did. Even though these pictures don't necessarily show their enthusiasm. :)

I don't love my middle child any less than the others, by the way. She was just crabby. And this momma don't do crabby.

11 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Everywhere I go, someone tells me my baby looks just like (fill in the blank with a name of one or more of his siblings), yet every morning when I go in to get him up, I think to myself that he looks quite different from all of our other babies.

(Rest assured, he's ours. He was born at home, so there was definitely no hospital mix-up in his history. And we don't have a milkman, so that's out.)

Regardless, I think he is one of the most stunning babies on earth. I mean, sure, I might be a teensy weensy bit biased. But gosh....he kills me with those big baby blues.

Do You See What I See?

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:32:00 +0000

I must be living under a rock these days. First the Venus Transit and now this! An adorable little hummingbird is living in the tree in our front yard! How could I have never noticed a hummingbird?? Oh, I mean besides the fact that she (he?) is tiny and super fast. But really. Hummingbirds are awesome! I can't believe I've never seen her (him?) before this weekend.

Actually, I take that back. I can believe it. Ya know why? Because I never (ever ever EVER) sit in our front yard. I sit in the back all the time, but never in the front. The only reason I was up there was because I thought it would a brrrrilliant idea to bake outside for 8 hours in the weekend heat wave last Saturday and pretend that people might stop by our garage sale when in reality all we sold was about $20 worth of muffins, cookies and brownies - mostly to the kid down the street.

Anyway, back to the bird. Isn't she (he?) cute?! A few useless hummingbird facts for you:

1. Hummingbirds stand only 3 inches tall and weigh about as much as a penny and therefore can get tossed about in the wind quite easily.

2. Hummingbirds migrate and can fly as far as Alaska to Mexico in one migratory season.

3. Hummingbirds don't like to be photographed. (This is just a personal observation. No scientific data to back that up.)

And apparently this little lady (gent?) could be migrating further south in as soon as a few weeks' time. So I'll just enjoy her (him?) while she (he?) is here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boy, that whole blog post could have been a lot less work for my pinkies if only I knew the gender of that darn bird.

The Venus Transit

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:26:00 +0000

I apparently don't watch the news often enough because I didn't even know this fancy event was going on until late in the afternoon yesterday and I found out in no way other than....The Great Facebook. Which is, of course, the ultimate source of all knowledge.

So anyway, when I got home from work last night, I thought I'd check it out. My husband made me wear these goofy welding glasses to look at it, which didn't do a thing for me. I have a picture of me wearing them, but it's resting safely on my hard drive right now and probably will stay there for all eternity.

Since I shoot portraits - not weddings - and since I love primes, I don't own any zoom lenses. So this was taken with my fabulous fifty right as the sun was setting over the horizon.

Um....yeah. Not very impressive.
Don't hire me to take pictures of the sun for you. DO hire me to take portraits of your children! :)

Anyway.....if you want to see some REAL pictures of Venus traversing its way through space though, check out this short clip! Pretty neat!

Did you miss the Venus Transit last night? If so, you're gonna need to hang around until 2117 to see the next one.

Smart Phones Are Nice

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:35:00 +0000

Until this happens.

Breakfast of Champions

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:06:00 +0000

Am I seriously blogging about breakfast? Why, yes. Yes I am.

You see, people on Facebook seem to care about what I'm eating. I'm not really sure why. But they do. Whenever I post a picture of what we're eating, someone inevitably asks for the recipe. While I'm no culinary expert, I do prepare somewhere in the realm of 1000 meals per year, so I guess you could say I've got a little bit of cooking under my belt.

Anyway, I thought instead of just posting a recipe, I would also post pictures since I know how much I appreciate pictures when I'm preparing a meal. And we all know how well this works for our Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman). People LOVE her. I LOVE her. And I also LOVE her kitchen.

*swoon*

My kitchen isn't nearly as pretty to look at (or as clean, mind you), but here we go anyway...

This is my Breakfast of Champions. Or something like that.

Start out with 3 eggs, a handful of spinach, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 brat (err...your choice of meat), garlic, avocado, cheese, and of course...butter. I don't cook anything without butter.

Mmm, I love butter.

Throw a few tablespoons in a non-stick pan (I like my wok-like pan. Say "wok-like" 5x fast.) and turn the burner to medium. Then grate up your carrot and chop your spinach, onion, and meat.

(A brat just happens to be what I had in my fridge. Don't judge.)

Your butter should be all melted now so swirl it around and throw in your chopped goodies.

Let 'em saute in there for about 5 minutes until they are lovely and mushy and then throw in some garlic. (I'm lazy and I buy the minced garlic, but feel free to chop your own if you're so inclined.)

As you're getting ready to put in your eggs, notice that two small humans have suddenly awakened and are hungry. Get out 6 more eggs and add all 9 to the pan. Swirl those around and consider how much less yummy meat you're now going to be eating thanks to the arrival of those small hungry humans.

Scramble up that yummy goodness and top it with shredded cheese. I prefer colby jack, but if you're more a cheddar person or a swiss person, I imagine that'd be good too.

Now here comes the really fun part. Pull your eggs off the burner and cover with a lid. And if you're using a wok-like (wok-like, wok-like, wok-like, wok-like, wok-like) pan that doesn't have a lid, grab the largest lid you have and plan to just hang out there for a few minutes.

Or get really creative and use a spatula to prop the lid precariously on your wok-like pan.

You know, whatever suits your fancy.

Then chop up some avocado....

remove the lid....

and feast on the breakfast of champions (which you are now sharing with those small hungry humans)!

Cherish

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:13:00 +0000

As I swayed and bounced and bounced and shooshed, I considered how much he has grown already. My sweet baby boy is nearly 11 months old and I am in awe of the beauty of God's ultimate creation: babies.

Even though it was 5am, he had been awake for over an hour. I was trying to get some work done in my office, but his fussing had started to become more frequent and so I swooped in and rescued him from whatever the trouble was (teeth? earache? insomnia?) and just held him. He was so big in my arms, yet so tiny when compared to his four older siblings. As I held him, I thought of my friend Amy. Amy and I have never actually met, but she is a fellow photographer. She and her husband have two children who have been diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a progressive degenerative brain disorder with no known cure. I have spoken of their family in the past and even held a fundraising event for them once. Because they are expecting the worst at some point, yet hopeful for the best, they seem to have a clearer grasp than many on what is truly important in life. She always signs her blog posts with three simple words:

Hug your babies.

So often I forget what matters. I forget to stop and smell the roses with my kids. I forget that they are my priority. Their dreams are important. They need to hear "I love you" over and over again. They need attention, affection and a listening ear. So often I am too busy, too tired, too....whatever. And I miss those moments.

Don't miss those moments with your kids. Our children are the greatest tangible blessing the Lord will ever give us. Cherish them. Love them. Take time for them. Listen to them. And hug your babies tightly.

A Big Catch-Up Post: Newborn

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:40:00 +0000

I think this is the last "big catch-up post", since I've mostly been working with maternity and newborn clients this spring! Here are a few of the sweet babies I've seen lately.....

A Big Catch-Up Post: Maternity

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:54:00 +0000

I've been working on a big giant secret project (that I am SUPER stoked about!) since last fall and it's finally in the final stages and alllllmost ready to reveal, BUT...in the meantime...here are some of the images that are being used for this project. These are from two different ladies throughout the course of their pregnancies! :)

A Big Catch-Up Post: Janie & Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:36:00 +0000

I was feeling kind of overwhelmed with all the blogging I've gotten behind on. (See this post.) And so instead of blogging each family individually as I usually do, I'm just throwing them all into a few posts and then I can breathe and start afresh! Soo....here goes...

Back in March (*gulp*) I worked an event at the Janie & Jack store at the Keystone Mall. It was a whirlwind 2 days of shooting and 2 days of proofing sessions! I enjoyed working outside my normal naturally lit studio or outdoors; everything was shot on white vinyl in a tiny 8x8 space with 2 studio lights squeezed in.

But enough chatter. Here are a few of the cuties I worked with!

Math Works

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:37:00 +0000

This morning my son came upstairs carrying the Children's Museum magazine and asking if the Hot Wheels exhibit was there yet. So we looked through the magazine and, using addition, subtraction, and multiplication, figured the following facts about when the Hot Wheels exhibit will arrive:

I noted that the exhibit will arrive on May 26th, so being lazy, at first we estimated that the exhibit would be there is approximately 3 weeks (or 21 days). But then, by using the date at the bottom of my computer screen, we discovered that it will be exactly 18 days, thereby learning that the exhibit will be there in less than three weeks. Then I drew a number line and we learned that the exhibit will arrive in 3 fewer days than 3 weeks. And that, if 2 weeks equals 14 days and 3 weeks equals 21 days, that 18 days is approximately 2 1/2 weeks. Then we talked about how 7 plus 7 plus 7 could also be written 7 times 3 with both problems equaling 21.

(Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling?)

And then I took this picture of my 7 year old sporting a lovely edition of bedhead and wearing his size 5T pajama shirt, which he insists still fits him just fine.

I Wore Shorts

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:29:00 +0000

Several months ago I was out shopping when I happened upon a clearance pair of jean shorts. I have a love/hate relationship with shorts - mostly hate - and so, from time to time, I do glance upon them in the store but rarely to I buy them and never do I wear them.

. . . I used to wear shorts, actually. Back in the day. You know, before I carried five babies and gained an excessive (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. And also before shorts were quite so short. Or maybe I just didn't care as much when I was younger. And then there's the added bonus that my legs are as white as a ghost. I used to get teased for that in high school and while I have sustained a few pretty bad sunburns over the course of my years, now I'm pretty glad that I never bothered to try to keep them looking tan (not that it would have worked anyway) with all the skin cancer being linked to tanning research that I've read . . .

But anyway, this pair of shorts was pretty cute. They were made of a suitable amount of fabric. And they were on clearance. And they were in my size. There were simply too many convenient coincidences to just pass it up. So I bought the shorts. And then promptly forgot about them until I found them in my closet a few weeks ago. I transferred them to my dresser drawer and figured they would just be another pair of shorts that I'd never wear.

But then yesterday happened. It was gorgeous outside. Sunny. Breezy. Perfect. And as I ran errands all over town with my munchkins, I spent the day in....jeans. It sounds stupid, doesn't it? Jeans are hot. And I don't mean sexy. They are literally HOT to wear when it's warm outside. But I wear them anyway, mostly because I have issues with my legs. When we returned home in the late afternoon, I decided to run through a Pilates video from Netflix. (I do this occasionally and I'm trying to make it more of a habit.) After I turned into a sweatbomb, I figured it would be best to shower. And after my shower, something weird happened.

I put on those shorts.

And after I put them on, I thought a tank top would be appropriate. And once I put on my tank top, I thought my outfit needed some earrings. And by the time I had fully dressed myself....

I felt good in my shorts.

What?! Crazy things are happening! And then something even more phenomenal happened....

I went to the store. In my shorts!

I know. Sit back and catch your breath if you must. Not only did I go to one store, but I went to three stores. IN. MY. SHORTS!

If this has all just gotten too out-of-control crazy for you, let me explain something about this day-I-wore-shorts story and why it's so significant to me. Remember that (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. that I mentioned up there? Well, I've lost 9 of those (seemingly permanent) 35 lbs. in the past month. And while 9 lbs. isn't all that significant to some, I am currently at a weight which I have not weighed in the past THREE YEARS, at least. Probably five, but I don't have a record of my weight back that far. I have hesitated to blog about my weight thus far because I don't want to fall into poor habits and gain it back after having made a big deal out of it. But I decided to go ahead and mention it anyway. Perhaps because I think it will keep me on track if I have announced it the world. Or perhaps just because I am so excited about wearing shorts. But either way, here it is.

I am trying to make healthier choices in my life and I am excited to tell you that the first major boost to my self-esteem has been made in the department of.....wearing shorts. I'm not one to push self-esteem, but I do think it's healthy to view myself as a child of God, beautifully created in His image. And because I am the only mother my children have and the only wife my husband has, I better take care of myself. So I'm starting here.

The Task At Hand

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Stone) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:17:00 +0000

I used to be really organized. Like, really organized. And then I graduated from high school and got married to a man who wasn't quite as organized. (Love you, honey!) And then I gave birth to five children who, naturally, didn't come out organized. (Love you, kids!) And now I manage a home that is just clean enough, just functioning enough, just everything....enough.

When I ask my seven year-old to do a job, it's not unusual for him to return upon completing his task and ask if it has been done good enough. And I always tell him the same thing. It's not whether or not the job is done enough, it's if it has been done properly. Why can't I apply this same principle to my home?

Being a mom to five isn't exactly the easiest job on earth. In fact, I can think of about forty-eight hundred other jobs that would be easier. But I am so thankful to be home with my children every day and able to teach them in our home. I am thankful that they are willing and able to help do chores around the home and teach their siblings and play and laugh and grow together. And fixing the good enough's around here has been my focus as of late, which is why I have been somewhat absent from my blog.

I don't want to miss these moments. I don't want to let them happen while I'm at my desk blogging, unaware of the dancing that is going on in the next room or the silly game they are playing without me. I want to be in the moment. I want to accomplish this task that the Lord has given me - the task of raising my children, being an excellent wife and honoring the Lord with these little blessings and my time.

So if you notice that I have streaks of non-blogging, don't assume I'm not busy photographing adorable babies and children or that I don't care about my blog. It's not that at all. It's just that I care more about the task at hand. The task of raising up a family that honors the Lord.