2013 Year in Review

It has been one of those years when it has flown by too quickly.

As I look back on the year, though, I am grateful.

Grateful for changes.

Grateful for realizations.

Grateful for growth.

This has been a year of many changes, both for my businesses and personally.

This year brought up a move from San Diego to northern CA, a change in jobs for my husband, change in schools for my boys, homeschooling for Cody, and a number of other changes.

We are grateful for the changes. They are helping us grow. They have given us opportunities to be closer as a family. It doesn’t come without adjustment issues, but we are grateful.

Looking back, it made me realize what a wonderful year it has been for MRS Photography and I!

In the beginning of the year, Adobe Photoshop Elements included me in their Customer Gallery. If you visit the page, you’ll see my dog’s face as the first image in the Customer Gallery!  :)

Shortly after, Love That Shot published an interview with me in their Going Behind the Lens feature!

Then came the thrill of being in Me Ra Koh’s Your Child in Pictures!

That led to a feature in our local paper!

Personally, it has been quite a year!

When we moved back to Solano in June, I was sad to leave my “office” job, but am fortunate to still work from home part-time. It has been quite the juggling act. :)

With my husband’s new job, we have the opportunity for him to work full-time from home. When he worked for this job previously, he travelled 70% of the year. This is a wonderful change. We all had to adjust to the change, but we are thankful to have him home!

I was thrilled to come back to Solano so I could get back into photography. Life kind of got in the way for a bit, but I am ready to tackle this once again.

Shortly after the school year started, we realized that it would be in Cody’s best interest if we homeschooled him. We began in October and it has been the best move for him. His behaviors have changed. He is much happier. He has grown tremendously in the short few months of being home. It has been an adjustment for everyone, but the rewards are worth it.

Recently, I became the Vice Executive Director of the International Down Syndrome Coalition. I have been with the organization for over a year assisting with graphic design. I am excited about this new role! This organization has allowed me to meet wonderful individuals and families and I am grateful for these friendships!

I am not sure what 2014 will bring, but I aspire to believe in the possibilities, keep my eyes and heart open for realizations and hope I can continue to grow as an individual and as a business owner.

I hope that 2014 brings you and your family love, happiness, and success!

Happy New Year!

Thankful

My favorite photo of my boys

I am thankful and grateful for the many blessings in my life.

I am thankful for....

A husband that stands beside me and cheers me on even when my idea is off the wall.

A son that is kind and big-hearted and show shows his baby brother love, patience, and compassion.

A son that teaches me every day about the meaning of perseverance.

A family that is supportive and always there for us.

My family-in-law that always welcomes us with open arms and that we enjoy spending time with.

Friends that are my rocks, my partners in crime, my peeps!

The Down syndrome community that provides support, guidance and reminds me that we are not alone in this wonderful journey.

The IDSC that allows me to give back to a community that means so much to me.

The good, the bad, the ugly. They are all the things that make the person I am today.


From my family to yours, we wish you a Thanksgiving filled with family, love and laughter!

Pumpkin Patch Fun | Silveyville Pumpkin Patch, Dixon, CA

One of the things I missed out here while we were gone is the variety of Pumpkin Patches. We were used to the parking lot pumpkin patches of San Diego and were quite content with them. In fact, we preferred them.

Then, when we were away from Solano last fall, we missed them. We actually missed the get-muddy-pick-your-own-pumpkin-from-the-ground type Pumpkin Patch.

I was excited (even more excited than the kids) to visit the Silveyville Pumpkin Patch this fall! This was our first time there for their Pumpkin Patch. We had visited before during Christmas and loved it so we were excited to check it out during the Fall.

It did not disappoint!

Pumpkin after glorious, funky shaped, colorful pumpkins greeted us!

Cody wants you to know that this place is #1!

DJ enjoyed riding the “horses”.

We rode the “Clydesdale” pulled wagon. I think the adults enjoyed it more than the kids.

Along the path, we saw scarecrows hidden in the Christmas trees and…

….the park that housed the ducks.

Along the path was the pumpkin field with tons of pumpkins. Tons!

There was also an endless amount of farm animals!

This was our favorite site!

The kids picked out pumpkins to paint. They concentrated hard on their pumpkin painting!

 

Happy 7th Birthday Cody | Presidio Park, San Diego

It is hard to believe my baby is turning 7 on Saturday. SEVEN! Where did the time go?

We headed out to Presidio Park on Sunday for his photo session.

Suited in his Buzz Lightyear birthday shirt, he was ready for his session!

This picture just about sums up who Cody is. That smile is a constant throughout the day and when he flashes that smile, it is hard to say no to anything he asks for!

Looking modelesque wouldn’t you say?

My boy is a ham. He loves to make people laugh and he loves the attention. Gosh I love this little dude!

Right about here he kept asking if we were done yet. This is a courtesy smile at its finest.

This is the “she isn’t stopping taking pictures, is she? I’m just not going to look at her” look.

Big brother jumped in for a picture of his brother, too.

I love that pretty much every session since the Cody was 1, I have a photo just like this – their arms around each other and Cody looking at DJ with such admiration and love.

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I wish you the happiest of birthdays my baby boy! You are a ray of sunshine!

The Gift of Life – A Thank You Letter to an Organ Donor

I may never have a chance to give this letter to the family that deserves it most, but nonetheless, I want to write it.

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To the family that gave my brother the gift of life,

When my brother told me a couple of nights ago that a kidney might be available for him, I was beyond ecstatic.

Then quickly, I realized that a family was losing a loved one and that was why he would be receiving a kidney.

My heart became heavy and I grieved your loss. I cried heavily. I cried as if I knew him. I cried thinking that he was someone’s son…father…husband.

I cried because he was selfless in wanting to be an organ donor. That while living, he knew he could make a difference even when he was gone. That a part of him would live on in someone else and renew their chance at life.

He has given my family such a HUGE gift and for that we are grateful. At the same time, we all feel your loss and want you to know that we mourn with you. We pray for you. We embrace you with love.

My brother had his kidney transplant yesterday and it was a success! He still has a road to recovery, but the kidney was accepted by his body and is already functioning.

We may never have a chance to thank your family personally or even show our appreciation for this donation, but please know that you will always be in our thoughts. Because of your family member, my brother now has a chance to live a longer life, to watch his niece and nephews grow up, and even greater, the opportunity to wake up every morning no longer worried when his last day will be. We ALL have that gift now thanks to your loved one.

With all my heart and gratefulness,

Michelle

Happy 9th Birthday, DJ!

9 years ago yesterday, I was laying in the OR at 11:45 pm and the doctor was performing an emergency c-section in hopes of delivering my son on his actual due date of June 23.

Nurses from the NICU were in the OR with expectations of rushing him to the ICU because he had possibly digested his meconium. (We told him about this just last week and he said “I must have been desperate to eat since you weren’t feeding me anything!) HA!

9 minutes after midnight, my 7 lb 10.5 oz, baby boy came screaming into this world. He missed his due date by 9 minutes! And by screaming, I mean my friends in the waiting room could hear him when we were in the recovery room. ;)

We love, we bicker, we laugh, we cry together. He is more like me than anyone I know. (That’s probably why we bicker so much!)

He is growing into a handsome, smart young boy and he makes his dad and I so proud of him.

I wish he would stop getting older.

He is my cuddler. The one that comes into my bed the first thing in the morning to hug me and snuggle. I know in a few years he will probably not want to cuddle anymore. I wish he would stop getting older!

He swears that by the end of summer vacation, he will be taller than me. I sure hope not. ;) He only has about 4-5 inches until he is as tall as I am. Not cool. ;)

We are proud of you, DJ. For being a loving older brother (when you aren’t making your brother cry )….for being a smart, responsible student that teachers love to have as a student…for being a mama’s boy even at 9…for having a great sense of humor…for having an insane imagination and storytelling abilities that crack your dad and I up…

WE LOVE YOU OUR DJ MAN!!!!

Happy Birthday, Cody!

I can’t believe I’m going to say it…

I have not been looking forward to this age.

I have been in denial that it was coming.

There is just something about it that makes it “official” big boy age.

He’s not a big boy….

He’s my baby!

Without my approval or permission, it’s going to happen.

So I might as well greet him….

Happy 5th Birthday,

Cody Baby!!!!

My little sunshine turned 5 today.  SIGH….

5 years ago today, we waited with anticipation and breaths held as we waited for a cry, a scream, a “he’s okay” from the doctor.

5 years ago today, we didn’t know what our lives would be like as we began the journey as parents of a child with Down Syndrome.

We didn’t know the depths of love this child would bring to all of us.

That extra little something (Trisomy 21 to be exact), gave him an extra does of love (or stubbornness depending on the day ).

He starts the “K” word this summer. And we know he’s ready (though I still am not!). He enjoys books and is apparently already trying to plan what he is going to be when he grows up (as evident by the book in his hand).

He is a smart boy….

that loves to count…

…that will tell me how old he is (with attitude, of course).

…that will find his tongue more amusing than me while I try to photograph him.

….that is a little goofball who loves to make people smile and laugh…at random moments…

...that loves to jump….

….that doesn’t hide his emotions and always lets me know when I have bored him. ;)

Happy birthday, my handsome baby boy, my little Codnado, my big ball of love, my little home slice, my sunshine.

Daddy, Mommy and DJ love you!