A Light At the End of the Tunnel

They found Amber's purse downtown in an alley. It was torn to pieces with her wallet missing but we did recover her SSCard, some credit cards and her keys. The keys had been messed with so we are thankful we chanegd our locks, but atleast we got them back. It was found in a pile by a dumpster with about seven other purses. Yeah I guess some punk had a fun time breaking into cars and stealing purses that night. We need to give props to the poor poverty stricken couple that found her purse and was nice enough to call the cops. I guess it was a poor couple with two children who live in a bad area that found it. The husband makes his rounds everyday to pick up trash around there house because he like's it to look as nice as possible when he found all the purses. There can always be good honest people anywhere, thank God for that.

We're Not Done

I need to finish what my wife started in the last post. I found out that to replace our stolen car keys for the Expedition would cost $120... who knew that a chipped key for security could cost so much. I also had to pay a plumber to come out and fix our drain that I tried everything on God's green earth to fix and yet all attempts failed. But hey, he only used all of my tools, asked my opinion on what he should do, then I told him how I thought he could fix the problem...which worked by the way. He then proceeded to step on one of my sprinklers and broke off the head, used one of my pens to fill out his damn invoice and then charged me $75.(In my father's words I should have asked him to join us for a movie and popcorn.) What the hell is that all about?? I guess I should just take it up the tail pipe and say thank you can I have another. And so I did... just today I got a subpoena to court to testify about a call I was on just under a year ago. Yeah, and the hits keep on coming.

Oh Happy Day...

I really do hope that every one's day is going great. The following is a short account of how our lives have been unraveling, day by day. We are hopeful that we have reached the bottom and things will only go up from here. All things considered we have an amazing family and stellar friends. (thank God for that) As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "We're all in the gutter, but some of us can see the stars from here." If you'd rather not read the ramblings of a very pissed off, angry, drowning house wife...stop here.

Many of you know that on one very unfortunate day approximately 2-3 weeks ago our house attempted to crumble down around us. Our washing machine, dish washer and furnace all bit the dust IN THE SAME DAY! Not to mention our bathroom sink mysteriously stopped draining. All the while my son had lost his voice, was plagued by chronic stomachaches and began pooping blood. Perfect. Suddenly we were summoned to court by our hospital because of a bill for our daughter that is an entire year old. We didn't know it existed. Turns out, someone there dropped the ball. But, are we going to pay $2000.00 to get a lawyer and fight them. Most likely not. Clearly this is what they are counting on. As a separate issue my surgery ended up costing $200.00 more than we had been told and apparently they had been sending bills which we hadn't paid, so we were being sent to collections...as it turns out, they had the wrong address. Now we are on a payment plan, only to receive another bill today for the anesthesiologist. Again, we did not know this bill existed. Turns out, wrong address! We have been sent a billion and one things from these offices before, but suddenly our address is incorrect everywhere. After an unbelievable amount of time spent on the phone to lawyers, doctors and collections agencies (all of whom are obviously conspiring to attempt ruin our credit) we feel like we're living in Middle Earth, hell, the Twilight Zone...take your pick. So today we are feeling a little postal. Where would we be without the hope that God is going to reach down and drastically change our circumstances in the not-too-distant-future??? Oh, and by the way, I was with a friend last night who found out that Missy Higgins was coming to a little venue downtown for a small concert. (She happens to be one of my favorites) She bought both her and I tickets just because she thought it would be something really fun to do together. It was, until the concert ended. We walked outside to find her car window smashed in and my purse stolen. Including but not limited to, my wallet, social security card, ID, keys, iPod, necklace and so on and so forth. Could've done without that...

Isn't She Lovely?

How sweet. He thinks he's gonna have to help me open my presents...just wait till I show him my mad unwrapping skills!

Tear the paper? ...Absolutely!

Outta my way, just gimme the box.

Yum! Wet, slobbery cake.

Come on Daddy...don't you want another bite?

All this cake eating makes a girl happily sleepy.

It's fun to be messy


It's official. Our baby has had her 1st birthday. It was a blast. She was really great at opening her presents and of course, there was no problem with the cake. By far the highlight was when she reached over and shoved her messy little hand into Daddy's mouth...she was sharing. Lucky Dad :) We had lots of friends show up to give some love and hang out. In her short little life Izzy has impacted more people than we realize sometimes. God is so faithful. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. Love you all

1 year old...

Our preciously posing, pouting, praying little lollipop princess is turning 1!
She keeps us laughing, crying and helplessly in awe. She gets more beautiful every day. Her strong personality is developing quicker than we can keep up with. She really is hilarious. She is rough and tumble, but sweet all the way to her core. There are no words to describe her, just an unimaginable amount of gratitude that she belongs to us.
These are just a few of our favorite expressions. Obviously I had a really tough time choosing. The one that is on the title of the blog is "the shot." For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term...In every shoot I do I look for the ONE. It's the one that perfectly expresses who the subject is, what they are about, what makes them tick...It's the one that is full of emotion. You can know a truth about them just by seeing one photo. Whether the shoot went good or terribly wrong, it's all worth it if I can capture the shot that speaks. Because of this photo I would consider her shoot a success. You can't see it because the photo is too small, but there is a single tear underneath her right eye...priceless. Shouldn't she be in magazines??? We think so...
Happy Birthday Baby Izzy.

PS. A great big kiss for Jessica...who made the tutu! THANK YOU

Paper Paper Everywhere...

Who knew paper could be so much fun? Mason and Izzy had the time of their lives today. No, it wasn't on the beach, or at a park...it wasn't at the zoo or grandma's house. It was in an enormous pile of shredded paper! We laughed so hard. I found the first copy of my manuscript for The Magic Dozen. The "final" copy was sent to the publisher yesterday. So, I decided to tear it up. This copy was one printed before any editing, so several things have changed. What do you do with an outdated piece of work??? Destroy it of course. Anyway, I wasn't expecting it to become a family affair, and I definitely didn't expect that it could have been so much fun. It was ceremonial, freeing, and just felt plain good.

Check It Out

jag photography is finally getting itself a blog! We have been working hard, and can assure you there is more to come. But, for now, check it out if you're interested. Love ya