Silly little egg

He's cracking me up and breaking my heart at the same time.  

 (Please ignore the fact that he is in his diaper)

He's everywhere in no time. This morning I sat him down on his little playmat and went to check my mail, when I came back, he was standing on the opposite side of the coffee table trying to touch the couch on the other side.

His little tongue is doing funny things too.

And my favorite? He says "more, more, more" when he's eating now. No, he won't say "Dadda" on a consistent basis, but he'll say "more, more, more". Silly little egg.

I love this kid. He really is a hoot. But he's growing up so quick. I cannot stop thinking about him as a newborn lately, it must be the change of seasons. It's getting closer and closer. His birthday. At this time last year I was getting "large and in charge" but still working at the daycare. When I got home in the evening I just dropped, I was so tired.

It will be Thanksgiving before we know it, and then the memories of a long night/morning in our bathroom and hospital will haunt my thoughts. Christmas will come and I'll try to remember what last year was like. Such a blur...no sleep and a needy newborn crowded out my brain's ability to function during the holidays.

This year will be different. We'll make our own memories and hopefully, create some brand new Tyler, Tori and Will traditions.

This photo taken in front of my tree last year by my amazing, photographer friend, Elisabeth Carol. Will was a tiny, three weeks old.

I prayed for a friend

They joined the congregation when I needed her most. I had been lonely, longing for a friend after the move away from my home away from home for five years.

After graduating from Bible college in TN, my husband and I were married. We continued living in TN while Tyler worked on his Master's Degree. I worked at a Medical Billing office. Life was pretty good. Alot of our college friends still lived in town, (either married or still in dorms) so we were never short on fun times. Then we moved late August of 2007 to Texas where Tyler took the position of the Youth Minister at Worth Baptist Church. For a year, we made friendships with the teenagers and strengthened the hands of our Pastor and congregation.

But something was missing. I had left behind some very dear friends in TN, and needed someone to talk to. To laugh with. To cry with. No one fit that bill. A year passed and we heard that our Pastor would be interviewing a young man for the position of Music Director. He had a wife. I decided right away that I would do anything to make sure that we got along and prayed the Lord would help us to be friends and not have personality conflicts that I couldn't resolve. I prayed for a friend.

Turns out a month later, Pastor Weaver let us know that Andrew and Rachel would be joining the Worth Baptist Staff and that she was actually expecting a baby!

Excitement turned to the smallest bit of jealousy, I have to admit. I had been begging Tyler for the past year to let us try for a baby. He kept saying no, "we don't have the money," to which I'd reply (and everyone else at our Church) "you'll never have the money." He just wasn't ready. I was.

Rachel's baby bump grew bigger and bigger and so did my heart. We grew to be such good friends during this time. At times I would put my hand on her tummy and talk to the little girl inside, "We're going to be good friends, little one!" I meant it, because I knew it would be awhile before I had my own.

The baby came in March of '09 and as I held her in my arms at 3 days old, I fought back the tears of hope deep down inside. How sweet she was, how perfect. I wanted this.

Little did I know that while I was holding her, that God had already answered that prayer, a little boy was growing inside of me!

Since then Alayna has grown into a beautiful little 1.5 year old. And  my little Will is 9.5 months! Since he came I have gotten into photography bigtime. Rachel is now pregnant with her second little girl, Hannah! I asked her about two or three months ago if I could take some maternity photos, to which she readily answered "yes!" and I will also be photographing her birth around the first week of November!

Here are a few of my pictures of our maternity shoot this week :)

{The Rebarchiks, Tim+Lauren, Ebony} What I've been up to lately

Here's a short post showing what I've been up to in the last month...

I started with a family shoot with the Rebarchiks. We had the best time together, Nancy, her husband Frank, little girl Lily and son, Everett just had fun and acted like the hilarious little family that they are. Here are a few of my favorites!

While I was out on my shoot with the Rebarchiks, my husband and son were at my in-laws house, visiting with Lauren  (Tyler's sister) and her husband, Tim. After I got home, Lauren and I went over the details of her and her hubby's shoot that would take place on Monday afternoon.

We had a blast, and I think it showed ;) I couldn't pick just one!

And last but not least, here's what I was busy doing this weekend. Meet the lovely Ebony!

I met Ebony, while working in a daycare last year. She loves the Lord, loves kids, and fortunately, loves to smile! I was so glad when she Facebooked me and ask to set up a portrait session.

For an updated flow of sneak peaks, please check out my adele photography page on Facebook :) and 'like' it!

When there's nothing you can do, but pray.

I know...it's been forever. I hate that I haven't written. But, somehow, whenever I started to write, I would think, "No, It's been so long..." Like that made it any better or something. We've just been so extremely busy. As a family. As Church staff. As a Mommy. My last few shoots with clients haven't been completely edited either. uhhggg...

That said, I'm writing about something that has been heavy on my heart lately. Youth. What more can we do to help them. But, on the other hand, what are we not doing? This situation has made me think. "What am I giving my life to/What should I be giving it to?" (this has all been going on for a long time now)

"She's totally confused," said Tyler, speaking of the girl who had just written me a message on Facebook. She seemed to be asking questions and trying to answer them, but unsure of herself. It's been a little while since this sweet girl left our youth group. We'll call her 'Angie'.

Angie, had come faithfully to each meeting of our churches youth ministry for about 9 months, when she got involved with "the wrong guy". That guy took her down the wrong path quick. She had been soaking up the truth like a sponge after her salvation. Growing so much spiritually, Tyler and I could hardly believe it. And through all of that growth, she assured us that she would be attending a Bible College in the Fall. We were so excited! But like Satan has done so many times before, he crept in, almost secretly and stole her heart in the form of a handsome young man, oozing "spirituality" and charm.

She didn't tell me about him until they had been dating for about a month. And she wouldn't have told me then had she not been badgered to death by me. I stopped by her house one afternoon to check on her. "He's a Jehovah's Witness, I went to his church last Sunday" came the reply to the question of which church she had attended the Sunday before.

A lump in my throat, my heart stopped for a second. "A Jehovah's Witness?!" I couldn't hide my astonishment or disappointment. He didn't believe Jesus was God, in Hell or a myriad of other Bible Truths. What was I supposed to say? Well, the conversation went a little like this,

"Does Tyler know about this?"
"Yes, he gave me a book to read."
"Have you read it?"
"Yes."
"All the way?"
"Almost."

She went on to say that she knew we believed differently. And I said that it was dangerous and a sin for her to be "unequally yoked." She said she understood. Later after a few weeks of missing church she called, said she knew she was doing wrong by being with him. I told her that I loved her and had been praying for her and that she was doing the right thing by breaking up with him.

She never did. She never came back.

We've had several Facebook conversations since then. Tyler was convinced that she was confused, I told him that I didn't think that she was but that she wanted us to know that she didn't agree with what we believed anymore and she was just trying to share with us her "new-found knowledge". I hoped secretly that he was right.

Today I got a message, "...I am not confused. My motive is not debate...Jesus is not God." Ok, so she's letting me know, that she doesn't want to carry on this conversation anymore. But what can I do? Am I to give up? Leave her alone, in her false doctrine and Satan-sent relationship?

The question really is...did I do all I could? I believe the answer is, "yes". I involved her, befriended her, gave her rides, prayed for/with her on spiritual issues, answered her questions from the Bible. We can do all we can do, in the end, it comes down to the fact that we all have Individual Soul Liberty. If 'Angie' has decided to not follow Jesus, then there's nothing I can do but pray.

And so I will. Please pray with me, for this young lady.