This semester is soaring by at lightening speed and I have no choice but to grab on to the days and hold onto them for dear life. Somehow, each one still seems to slip through my fingers. I am thankful for my camera those days. Most of my life has been enjoyed in retrospect anyway. Am I the only one who is built that way? Even really important days; our wedding day, the day Korey brought Clover home and the day I got the acceptance letter to dental school, are all a blur now. Time erodes the details of memory and soon all that is left is the faint scent of truth on an otherwise completely made up story of "what really happened." Photographs provide focus and hard edges for fuzzy details.
Occasionally, some of my favorite photographs are unplanned. They capture the details of mundane, every day moments. Take for instance, the photograph below. It was taken a few weeks ago on the way home for the weekend. The dogs had signaled that they needed to go out, so we pulled the car over and let them roam through the grass for a bit. They ran and jumped and played and did what dogs do, and then they both sat in the sunshine and looked at Korey as I took this picture. Now I will always remember the shininess of their coats, their exact coloring, and how different their noses are in profile. Blessed details. They mean so much to me.
Have I ever mentioned how beautiful my dogs are. Strong and sweet and shiny like the dogs on the cover of a magazine. At times I am overwhelmed that they are mine. "They will enrich your life," a friend told Korey and me when we were contemplating whether or not to get one. It was good advice and doubly true for us.
Speaking of beautiful and enriching things, the weekly photo shoot with Stella produced two of my very favorite pictures that I've taken of her so far. What a beautiful woman she is. It has been such a joy to take her picture every week and be a part of their little miracle.
This week, Brad made his debut and it was so fun to see them interact with each other. They are obviously very in love with each other and excited about the little life they've been a part of creating.
I can't help but laugh every time I look at this picture. After practicing listening to his bowel sounds, he did end up actually trying to listen for the baby and I think the progression turned out very sweet.
They have two dogs also. I didn't get any pictures of Ace, but Nannette made her presence known. She is so used to being the center of attention.
I digressed.
The reason we went home a few weeks ago was to celebrate my sisters 30th birthday.
Ashley and Eric recently bought their first home, and it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate so we had a cookout. It was mainly family early on and then friends came over a little later to hang out and have fun long past the bedtime of the smaller children.
Catherine came for the party and I was so glad she did. She and Ashley were thick as thieves in highschool and so much has changed since then. It was wonderful to catch up.
The cutest little girl from Eric's side of the family loved Ashley's cake. I love how children feel invisible when they are trying to do something sneaky.
Korey called me over and we both giggled while we watched this childhood right of passage.
The sneaking of the icing. It's a bridge every child must cross.
No one cared about the damage. Who could be mad at that little face?
Ashley's husband surprised her with a necklace and earrings.
And I loved her beautiful birthday flowers.
Ashley's cat and dog were both the life of the party.
Although Levi was a teensy bit camera shy.
So when we were all stuffed from hamburgers, hotdogs, side dishes and cake, we still had an icecream cake and s'mores to go through.
So we walked out onto the porch Ashley had decorated with these awesome lights and sat around her firepit to roast marshmellows and pass the time. Korey and I left didn't leave until midnight (We're more morning people than night people) but others stayed around the fire laughing long into the night. It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person, inside and out.
\\Happy birthday, sister. I love you.
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