Sometimes I debate what I should share here about our personal life, because  1) it’s a business blog (sort-of), and 2) I’m never quite sure just how much of “us” you really want to hear about.  But what we’ve been through this past month has shifted my perspective so strongly that it’s all bound to show up here eventually in one way or another.  And I think there’s a lot of value in letting you all behind the curtain, because curtains (though sometimes necessary) can give a dangerously inauthentic picture of what life is like when they’re left drawn for too long.

Here’s the story:

Back in early December, Jonathan (my husband and our head e-mail responder) began battling some pretty hefty fatigue and leg pain.  It took me a few weeks to get on board (I mean, really… aren’t we ALL exhausted?!?), but as he continued to get worse I began to understand that we weren’t talking about the typical “Daddy-of-Three-Little-Kids” Syndrome. : )  By early January the pain was holding him back from doing things that he used to take for granted, and by the middle of January he was so sick that he was hardly able to be out of bed.  We began meeting with various doctors and specialists, trying to absorb and entertain possible diagnoses like “Multiple Sclerosis”, “Lymes Disease”, & “Neurological Disorders”.  As he continued to get worse, our fears were magnified… whatever it was that was attacking his body was doing so with a vengeance, and we sensed a growing urgency to find the cause of the pain, tremors, headaches, and fatigue before things were past the point of healing.

About a week ago, a connection was made between a possible interaction between two medications he’d been taking.  Within days of stopping the medications, the frightening symptoms had all but vanished, and he was back on his feet playing with the kids and smiling from ear to ear.  Jonathan was back in full force, and no one would have guessed by looking at him that he’d been nearly incapacitated for the better part of a month.

I know… RIGHT?!?

I feel as though I’ve just woken up from a bad dream… A week ago, I really didn’t think my husband would be able to walk again, and feared an outcome worse than that.  And now he’s out with our almost-five-year old, poking around the model train shop in town, because that’s what you do on Saturday when you have an almost-five-year-old boy and you’re a daddy who can get out of bed.  : )

In every marriage, there’s bound to be certain frustrations each spouse feels toward the other, big and small; our marriage is no exception.  But so much of that melted away this past month as we realized that a loving spouse, however imperfect, is a treasure that words cannot begin to describe.  Our families, our children, our parents, our siblings, our husbands… they should be celebrated.  Every day.  Because they’re with us.  Because we love them.  Because life is so very precious.  And because nothing is a guarantee.  I was so blessed to be reminded of that through this past month’s struggles.

To wrap it all up, let me share with you something that I’ve wanted to share for a very long time (but never did for fear of the trouble I’d be in later… Ha!)

I have an incredible husband.  He’s brilliant, he’s funny, he fights for me, and he’s hot in flannel shirts.  He’s got more integrity than you’d find in a hundred average men put together, but he’s absolutely impossible to control (which I always fight with him about but secretly love).  He thinks I’m gorgeous, even when I have no living idea why, he lets me take his picture, even though he hates it, and he can outsmart anyone at any game, any time (but sometimes, I think, he lets me win).  He’s a damn good pastor, an even better daddy, the most faithful kind of friend, and the person that I respect above everyone else.  He will have my heart until my very last breath, because I gave it to him on the morning of August 12, 2000 and I’ve never once thought about taking it back.  I thank God that this homesick, scared girl said “yes” to the walk around our teeny little collage fourteen-and-a-half years ago, because that walk was the beginning of the most amazing journey of my life.

Can I get a “YAY” for happy endings?!? : )

PS… Things obviously got a little busy around here… but I’ll be announcing the winner of the Sweet Shots giveaway in our next post.  Your movies were, in a word… HILARIOUS… now I have to go count them all up and pick a number! : )

Jonathan and I high-fived each other this morning as we realized that we’d FINALLY gotten all three of our little ones out of diapers.

All.

Three.

(It was a big, big day)

: )

(keep reading for the prize!!!) 

Here’s some sweetness for you…

I photographed these three beauties a few weeks ago.  It was a total joy to go to their beautiful home and capture their perfection.  Each girl was such a delight… I’m sure you’ll agree!

I’ve been SO excited to show you all some of the changes we’ve made at the studio over the winter.  It’s been a LOT of work, but also an absolute ball… the studio is my favorite creative outlet!  We’ve installed a “new” barnwood floor, recovered some furniture, added pictures on walls… it’s becoming a super-special place that I can’t get enough of. : )

Check out the sunroom:

And the waiting room:

 When I was a little girl, my number one favorite movie was National Velvet, starring Liz Taylor as a sweet 10 year old girl.  Today my kids watched it for the first time, and I sat along with them as the music and sweet themes brought back some really wonderful memories.

Have you watched any of your favorite childhood movies with your kids yet?  There’s something kind of magical about it.  It’s the perfect time of year to pop a bowl of popcorn, make a little fire, and snuggle up to share something like that with them. : )

One last thing on the subject of National Velvet… if you haven’t seen it and can stand old movies even a little bit, you really must rent it.  The true star of that movie is “Mrs. Brown”, the mother of Liz Taylor’s character.  It’s such a beautiful story of the wisdom that comes when you chase your dreams, whatever the outcome.  Trust me… you’ll LOVE it!!!

So… shall we celebrate such a fabulous diaper-free occasion?!?

Leave me a comment over on this blog entry’s Facebook post sharing your favorite childhood movie.

On Monday, I’ll randomly pick a winner from all of the commenters to win free admission into any one of the DSLR classes listed below:

• Sweet Shots Level I ($160 value)
• Sweeter Shots Level II ($175 value)
• Photoshop Elements: The ABC’s ($99 value)
• Photoshop Elements: Let’s Swap ($99 value)
• Photoshop Elements: Fabulous Fixes ($99 value)
• Photoshop Elements: Creative Color ($99 value)
• Digital Scrapbooking 101 ($145 value)

Click here to leave a comment!!!

(and have an awesome weekend!)

: )

I’ve been seriously stalling on this post for awhile because… well… I’m never completely comfortable sharing about personal accolades.  After all, I’m always telling my kids:

1) not to be so darn competitive, &

2) not to brag about their accomplishments.

In true hypocritical fashion, however, I’m about to do both.  Couldn’t be much worse than having a cookie for breakfast when they’re not looking, right?  (You know you’ve done it) ; )

So here goes…

I recently placed in the NAPCP International Image Competition!!!

The NAPCP, or National Association of Professional Child Photographers, is a fantastic organization for both photographers and parents who value professional photography.  I was honored to be accepted into the organization in 2009 after an in-depth application and review.  There are many benefits to being a part of this talented community of professionals, one of which is the opportunity to enter and be judged against countless talented photographers worldwide in the organization’s semi-annual International Image Competitions.

They receive thousands of entries for the international competition, each of which are critiqued and judged by some of the most talented and successful photographers in the field.  This past summer, I entered five images that I felt represented some of my best work, then sat back and crossed my fingers.

When the results were in, I was blown away to find that three of my entries placed among the fifty-six images that received accolades in the competition.

One of my very favorites took third place:

And two received NAPCP Recognitions of Merit:

Anyway…

I’ve been secretly really wanting to share that with you guys… hope you didn’t mind!!! : )

Have I mentioned that we have seriously STUNK at doing family dinner these past few years?  Growing up, my mom made real, normal, not-from-a-fast-food-drive-through dinner for our family every. single. night.  HOW?!?  (Mom you are amazing…)  Anyway, as soon as our schedule lightened up in December, we began to make “family dinner” a higher priority at the Tripple house.  Or at least, we tried…

DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE FOOD THAT EVERYONE LIKES?!?!?

From our kids’ perspectives, we’ve had a few winners, many losers, and a few “tolerable” menus this past month.  Tonight’s dinner, however, was a HOME RUN!!!

photo courtesy of Pip and Ebby!

Since many of you also struggle to find foods that your children and your spouses will consider tasting, allow me to share this fabulous meal suggestion with you!!!  Tonight we made “Veggie Cheese Stromboli” from the fabulous Pip and Ebby Messy Kitchen blog.  We all went goo goo over it!  And, best of all, my six-year-old helped make it… basically, this Veggie Cheese Stromboli is great on every level!

Little note… I couldn’t seem to find any sun dried tomatoes or jars of roasted red peppers at Target, so I grabbed a jar of the Giada Sun Dried Tomato Basil to spread on the dough instead.  It was… just… WOW.  Try it, you will NOT be disappointed!!! : )

I am so excited to share this little update with you guys… I GOT ONTO my treadmill!!!  And I made it GO!!!  I’ve gotta tell ya… I can already see that this will be the most difficult thing I’ll be accomplishing this year.  Three miles in 30 minutes seems about as do-able as climbing Mount Everest right now, but my heart tells me it can be done and now I can officially say I’m going after it!  I put together a little video of my very first few steps… it’s posted over on Facebook and I do hope you’ll go over there to check it out.  While you’re there… become a fan, will ya?  It’s fun to have a place to share the little stuff with you guys… : )

PS… So that we can all keep track… I did one mile in a little over 17 minutes.  Mostly “running”.  It was not impressive from a runner’s perspective, but for me?!?  A HUGE victory!!!  Gonna do it again tomorrow!

PSS… Oh my word I almost forgot my Oscar speech:  I could never have done my 17 minute mile without the encouragement from my mom, Jonathan, Kendra, my three babies, Christine, Missy, Julie, Kori, Melody, Jennie, Tonya, Kristen, Eric, Jeff, Karyn, and Stephanie… Seriously… THANK YOU for all of your encouragement and helpful advice!!!  I would still be staring at that thing feeling terrible if it hadn’t been for you all!!! Whew!!!  That is enough for one day!

XOXO