My Guys...

We finally got around to taking 'official' yearly pictures of our three young men. I am woefully behind on documenting them each year, but hopefully the adage "better late than never" will apply!Caleb will be turning six in just a couple of weeks. I can't believe that we've been parents for a majority of our marriage -- it seems like just yesterday we were in the trials of infertility and waiting on the Lord. Caleb is a pretty incredible kid and the best big brother EVER. He is overall very patient and kind with his younger brothers, especially with Toben. His favorite things to do are Legos, play games on the Wii, jigsaw puzzles (the more pieces the better), and play with his buddy Hunter. He's beginning to read more and more on his own, which has made bedtime story reading more enjoyable (and more drawn out -- I think he's picked up on that stalling tactic!). We've really enjoyed reading The Jesus Storybook Bible each night with him. The childlike faith is something to behold -- he doesn't realize it, but he's teaching me as much or more than I'm (hopefully) teaching him. Gotta love how the Lord works like that.
(For my own memory's sake... some stats on the Bug: He's approximately 45-50 pounds and 46-48 inches tall. We'll find out for sure at his six-year well check after his birthday. He wears size 6 pants for the length, but only if they have adjustable waistbands, and mostly size 6 shirts. Long and lean. He lost two teeth during the first week of the year - the bottom center two, one on January 2nd and one on January 6th.) (EDITED 2/24 - Caleb weighs 45lb, 8oz and is 46 1/2 inches tall. Dang, I'm good at estimating! ;)
Logan continues to be our greatest challenge and also our greatest comedian. We are learning more and more that he is very much an introvert, and new situations and crowds just set him on a tailspin. If he is with a small group of people whom he is comfortable around, he will turn into the silliest, most creative little nut. However, if he's at all uneasy he will cling to Ryan or me, or dissolve into tears, or become the most serious little man. His creative nature shines when he's having an "on" day, and he's racking up some great stories for us to tell one day. (I really should be better about writing these things down...) Logan loves to play on the iPad, go to his gymnastics class (where he's excelling in everything -- I'm in awe watching him), play with his Puppy, play games on the Wii, pretend play with his ImagiNext toys, and do most anything outside. He's our outdoors boy at the moment.
(For my memory: Logan is 39 pounds and 43 inches tall as of last Wednesday at his four-year well check. He wears size 4T clothing, but in some pants we've had to buy size 5T slims, also with adjustable waistbands.)
The Littles. Toben is our little charmer, for sure. He's strong-willed like Logan, but is also quite outgoing. He loves to be wherever his big brothers are, and tries to do everything just like them! Toben has been slow to speak coherently, but it hasn't stopped him from trying to express his mind... loudly. He has one volume, and it's LOUD. You never have to worry about him sneaking up on you! He also loves to play on the iPad, play outdoors, play with cars and trains, and watch his brothers play Wii.
(I'm really not sure on T's stats, but my best guess is that he's in the 33-35 pound range and is about 36 inches tall. He wears size 2T clothing and size 5 diapers. Toben is the most solid of all our boys at this age.)
We only got one photo of all three together and I feel like it shows a glimpse of each of their personalities. The other photos above are a small handful of the shots I got of all three individually -- we had such a fun time tromping around old Richmond as a family that evening.

Hopefully I won't wait so long again to do annual photos of the boys -- I think it's been since Toben's first birthday that I last intentionally took yearly photos of any of my guys. Oops! At least I have a million snapshots of them from everyday life. Those are the memories truly worth having -- but it sure is nice to have a good shot or two to hang on the walls now and then!

Something New...

My friend and former roommate Robin has completed her first and started her second Project 365, which is to take and post a photo each day for a full year. She had me hooked to her Flickr account, checking daily (or near daily) to see what a bit of her life was like each day. Robin has been very encouraging to other camera-happy friends about starting their own 365 (likeJordan, and Kelli who is doing a Project 52 - one themed picture per week), but I've resisted.

Until now.

I began my own Project 365 a little over a week ago, on my 32nd birthday. I've kept up with it a full 10 days now, so while it's not a huge success with a ton of photos to view, it's a start.

I'm looking forward to having a "Year in Review" this time next year. A time to see the good, the bad, the highs, the lows, and all the amazing gifts brought each day and provided so abundantly by the Lord. So, here is your invitation to share in my photographic journey, my "365 to 33".

Tendrils...

It was time for haircuts for all of the Griffin guys.
Even for Toben. He's 14 months old now, and since I could pretty much gather all the hair around the crown of his head into a little ponytail, it was time for a haircut.
Don't think it didn't pain me a little to watch those sweet curls fall to the floor...

(don't you like the Edward Scissorhands-esque motion I've got going on? Ha!)

His hair is so fine and incredibly soft that the clippers wouldn't have worked well on his hair, so I cut it all using scissors.

You'll just have to wait until a future post to see what he looks like now... Both Ryan and I were a little preoccupied with bathing a boy or giving a boy a haircut or keeping a boy (and dog) out of hair clippings to take an "after" photo.

Speaking of photos... I've come to a conclusion that I do not post much at all anymore because I am incredibly (and most likely unnecessarily) picky about the quality of photo that I put on the blog. I realized this evening, while reading through some other blogs and wondering "how are they so good at documenting life?" that I am hung up on being as close to perfect as I can be. Yes, I am a self-proclaimed perfectionist. I come by it honestly.

What I remembered was this: Life is not perfect. I am not perfect. My family is not perfect. My photos are not perfect. {Thankfully my God is. Whew. But I'm not Him. Duh.}

So... Why not post things as they are? I spend a large chunk of my time each week editing photos for others, to give them a product that they are proud to display on their desks, walls, in their wallets, on their blogs, etc., and I will continue to edit many of my family's photos to enhance them as well. However, for a majority of photos you will find on this blog from this point forward, I will do my best to not make any bones about them not being 100% crisp and focused, perfectly metered, or altogether aesthetically pleasing. {Y'all, I'm doing this for me. I realize most of you don't give one owl hoot about photo editing...so just bear with me.}

When I go to a photo session for a client, I take the utmost care to watching my camera settings, and usually come away with many images the client is proud to have. At home, though, the boys might be doing something fun and I'm concerned about capturing them and tend to forget my settings on the fly... therefore I don't have the high number of crisp, clear images that I might in a session. It bugs me that all of this isn't fully second-nature, but hopefully it will get there someday. Maybe by the time they graduate. From college.

For now, this digital scrapbook needs some more regular attention. More straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) shots like the ones above are on the way, soon.

Becky's Pre-Wedding Prep...

Aunt Sherri, this is for you. These are just a few of the nearly 500 pics I've gone through and edited from Becky's wedding weekend! :) Yes, you and Becky will get these in color, too.

Hope you enjoy! It was a lovely day -- so fun to be the "fly on the wall" and enjoy it too!

Now back to working on the pics ... it's gonna take a while. ;)

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

My little side job has really taken off lately. I have such mixed feelings about it, too. On one hand, I am beyond thrilled that people want me to take pictures of their newborns, their families, their soon-to-be-graduating seniors, etc. I'm even getting calls from "friends of friends" who were told about me, and upon seeing some of my work wanted to schedule a session. Wowzahs!!! On the other hand, I keep wondering HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? Am I competent enough? Can I handle this and still be fully there for my husband and children? How much is too much?

In the interest of full disclosure, I pray each and every time I am driving to a session that it would go according to God's design. I ask for guidance each time, and for His help in capturing the beauty that He has created. Truly, any good images I am able to 'get' are all to His credit!! I just know that if it were all up to me, I would come away with all fuzzy pics and blown-out shots. Ugh. I still have some of those anyhow, but I think they are there to keep me humble. ;)

To this point, there has always been a handful of photos from each session that make me sit back and go "wow." The kind where you say it in a breath, quietly, to yourself. The "wow" that reflects awe and respect. Take these feet above -- this was their idea, not mine, and I am so glad they brought it up. I love it. I keep thinking of the verse "How lovely are the feet of those who bring good news" each time I see it!! Wow.

Anyhow, I don't know that I am competent enough, or that I can manage my time well enough to be all things (wife, mom, photo-enthusiast...). BUT, I know that He can certainly use me in all these things. How grateful am I!

Can you handle the sweetness...

had to share

some of the many lovelies I 'caught'

at my most recent newborn session

Bonus: The dad is the younger brother of a high school friend of mine. We didn't know of our "connection" until after they booked a session with me. Such a small world!

Double bonus: A deliciously sweet baby boy with incredibly photogenic parents!

SGP maternity shoot...

These pictures were so fun, I just had to share. Normally my "sneak peeks" will happen over at the other website, but here's a peek for my 'other' blogworld to see, too!

Natasha and I go way back. We first met and became friends in 5th grade, and went to school together through high school. She and I played soccer, volleyball, basketball, and ran track together, and our brothers were on the same soccer and baseball teams as well. We basically spent every weekend together for about 3 or 4 years on either soccer or baseball fields!!

Anyhow, Nat (or "Wilma" as a group of us will pretty much always call her) is expecting her second baby, a little boy, in about a month. She met me for a maternity portrait session last week, and we had so much fun seeing one another and catching up for the first time in OVER TEN YEARS. Crazy! She has a precious little girl, Livie, who is so excited about becoming a big sister. I loved how it seemed as though time hadn't passed -- we had a great time chatting, and I'm looking forward to getting together with her again sometime!

Did you happen to notice...

On some of the recent pics of the boys, you may have seen a little somethin'-somethin' in the bottom right hand corner.

Did you catch it?

{Big, deep breaths. Calm the pulse rate. OK, here goes...}

Sara Griffin Photography is now open for business! It's been in the works for a long, long while and I am seriously excited (and nervous, to be completely honest)!! I've done some portraits for a handful of families, but recently I had the honor of taking the Christmas pictures for a very prominent family (once I have their permission I might just share a sneak peek with you!) and in doing so, there's a big possibility that many people in this area could be contacting me for some photo sessions.

Yes, that's a tad vague. I'll share more in time. ;)wink wink;)

I just can't get over it. I've put together a website (trying to utilize whatever "free" things I can right now!) and I'm currently looking at creating a new email address just for this endeavor. There is so much for me to learn...!

This will still be my primary, family blog. The other one will have sneak peeks of current works, and other items related to Sara Griffin Photography. Don't be surprised if you occasionally see some overlap, though!

The announcement...

Since (I think) most people we mailed Toben's birth announcements to have received them by now (or will be receiving them within a day or two) I thought I'd go ahead and post it on here as well for the handful of you who read this blog!

Yep, Jordan, you're right -- I did make these. It was so much fun! I don't know about selling announcements on etsy -- you'll have to fill me in on the "ways of etsy"! I do know that the more I use Photoshop and do more photo editing, the more I enjoy it. In some ways, it is a stress reliever for me. Is that a sign of a good hobby??

I ended up just having these printed as a 5x7" picture through Shutterfly, although I looked and looked all summer for a site to upload this JPEG image and have it printed on 5x7" cardstock -- to no avail. All of the online printing services I found would only do their own templates or would not print one-sided cardstock with my full image. I guess I'll keep looking until I find what I'm thinking of, but until then I think the announcement looked fine printed out as a matte photo.

How could it NOT look just fine with that cutie on there? :) Toben is three weeks old now. Wow. Those pictures were taken when he was just one week old -- back in the good old days when he was actually sleeping at night. I think he's a bit mixed up now and has days and nights reversed. I know it will even out soon, but I'm definitely living on strength and energy only the Lord can provide at this time!

Well, Caleb is tuned into a neat show on PBS, Logan is out with Na, and Toben is napping. I think I know what I need to be doing as well...........zzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzz.......... Later, y'all.

Another baby photo session!

Thanks to the wonder of networking with old friends (and a little something called Facebook) I was asked this week to take pictures of this tiny little boy! Baby B. was just 8 days old yesterday when I took these pictures of him. He was quite the model - even letting me capture one of those sweet dreamy grins while being held and whispered beautiful loving words from Mom! Dad's arms proved to be quite a comfy cradle - he certainly knows who his Mom and Dad are!

Big Brother C. is not entirely sure about his new baby brother, but I'm sure they will be very close as time goes along! C. kept trying to share his apple with Baby B. - too cute!!

Yes, I do have all of these in color, too ... I think it's just my own personal tastes that draw me to black and white photos. To me, they seem to convey a sense of peace and have a charm all of their own. (That's not to say that the color photos aren't equally as precious - I'm just a sucker for some b&w!)

Thank you again, G. Family, for allowing me into your home yesterday for some time with your beautiful boys! I hope you enjoy your pictures (the CD will be delivered soon!) - I'm excited to learn what you choose!

Absolutely adorable...

I had the privilege of taking more newborn pics of Miss Zoe this past Friday. It took a while -- being 15 days old, she's under the assumption that she needs to know what is going on in this world around her nowadays! After a few feedings, her sweet Mama brought a CD player with a CD of a vacuum (YES, a VACUUM) running into the room, and it worked like a charm!!

I was supposed to take pics of Zoe at one week of age, but since we came down with the Illness That Shall Not Be Named in the Griffin home that week, we re-scheduled. I was so bummed to have to cancel on them... but we had a great time last Friday anyhow! The above pics are just a snippet of some of the great ones we captured.

I'd say that Big Sis Kaylea is a tad proud, wouldn't you? Gorgeous girls!!

In other baby news (is that all I talk about anymore??) -- my brother and sis-in-law are expecting again, due January 1, 2010!! They found out last week that they're having a BOY!!!