three boys and a thousand hills

WE'VE MOVED

2011-07-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

Hi! Thanks for stopping by....Last night, at midnight thirty, this blog and all its earthly possessions (words and photos) moved over to www.lizthomasphotography.com/threeboysandathousandhills

Please come on over and enjoy some new photos!

living next door to history....

2011-05-23T12:48:00.000-04:00

I'm sort of a history nerd...

so when I got an e-mail about shooting on-location at Whitehall, I felt pretty privileged...

But it was more than just taking pictures of a family at a historic site...

It was capturing images of a family whose history is very much intertwined in that of the house...

L. has worked here 17 years starting in college (I know, it's hard to believe it looking at her!) and her husband, C. also worked here at one time. They were married here.

And, now they live here on the grounds with these two lovely kiddos.

The funny thing is...the whole time I was taking pictures, I thought L. looked very familiar.

I just couldn't place the connection...

Then, we went inside to snap a few...

And she was telling me about the piano that had always been in the house and had once served as a roost for chickens...and then it hit me as we were standing there...she has told me all of this before! She was the tour guide for my mom & I several years ago!

I came home, called mom (who was thrilled that I got to photograph a family at Whitehall) and asked her if she remembered what our tour guide looked like...she did...and she described L.

I had a little fun with this one....thinking it could look like this random photo that could've been found years ago in a closet or the attic at Whitehall, like these kids always played here and always lived here :)

Kuddos to mom and dad for these last few...they were worn out, the kids were worn out...but you know me...I'm unstoppable sometimes...

Thanks for the fun G. & H.----you two were amazing...and for what all I put you through!!!!

I think the former "Lion of Whitehall" has nothing on this one ;)

a real honor...

2011-03-22T00:01:00.004-04:00

the thing about photography is...

that it affords me opportunities I would not otherwise have...

to be a part of something special...

say, to witness a marriage I might not otherwise see

to hold a baby I might not otherwise meet

to help cherish a time that is fleeting...

like a two-year old laugh

or tiny newborn toes

or, as in this case...

a dad's last few days before he deploys for 400 days...starting tomorrow...

I was certainly honored to get a call from these friends I had not seen in quite a while...at such a special time...

Godspeed Joe and safe return to your family!

...more sneak peeks coming to the Elizabeth Thomas Photography facebook page...

another chance...

2011-03-14T18:41:00.001-04:00

...what you are about to see....

was a real blessing for me...

you see I didn't get to photograph their wedding...

my dad was sick...

I'm always really sad when I have to tell

a bride "no"...

especially this bride...

who I remember from the first day

I met her when

she was just in middle school

and new to Kentucky...

twelve years ago...

My "career" as a portrait photographer

started largely because

her whole family

believed in me...

I photographed her sister as a high school senior

and her nieces and nephews &

her sister's wedding

so I was very sad that I

was not the one to photograph

her wedding

But lucky me...

she had the idea to..

bedraggle the dress...

and you know me...

I'll do anything!

Thanks for letting me help

bedraggle the dress!

Want to see more????

check out my facebook page

anyone want to get married at our farm? ;-)

Strong to the finish...

2011-02-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

I was out at Old Navy last week and stumbled across a shirt for Liam....

that reminded me of my dad...

who was, like Popeye, "strong to the finish".

While driving into town just yesterday, Charlie popped in a CD I bought myself for my birthday. It was the Statler Brothers singing, "Oh Elizabeth..."

And I remember many days riding around with my dad in his little red chevy pickup;

...and I remember him singing...

"Oh, Elizabeth, I long to see your pretty face..."

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." ~Anne Sexton

little boy blue...

2011-01-31T20:41:00.001-05:00

"Blue oblivion, largely lit, 

smiled and smiled at me. "

- William R. Bennett

"Feeling a little blue in January is normal."

-Marilu Henner

"If you don't learn how to fix stuff, mom...it's just not going to work out."

2011-01-31T14:30:00.051-05:00

As if I'm going to get fired from my "a mom of boys" job. Evidently, I'm not very good at it.

No, Liam, I might not be adept at putting train tracks together so that they all meet up again. But, really, isn't it OK just every now and again that the trains run off the track and onto the floor. I think it's kind of cool!

But, then those little trains get broken because Thing One and Thing Two throw them around like lassos instead of leaving them on the tracks, where they belong....so there...

And when such tragedy happens to the fellows of Sodor...what then?...the ripped wires present a technical difficulty of sorts...

So Charlie took it open himself to fix the three engines whose plight was at the hands of my two and four year olds.

He fixed two but duties called him to leave the other for later.

That wasn't suitable for Thing One.

So by the minute, we each were asked when Gordon would be fixed.

And I was threatened, "If you don't learn to fix stuff around here, mom, it's not going to work out for you."

Excuse me?! And then came....gasp...the threat of all threats...

"Mom, if you don't do this, I will be very cross indeed, very very cross indeed."

Oh, Liam...whatever you do...just don't do be cross...(bahahaha!)

A tumultuous 24 hours passed and Charlie got the tools out....

but not before waffles... (I think the waffle episode was the day before when the first two trains were in the shop)

a little whining ensued, so Charlie let them go to battle for this bite...

Onto the workshop...

And hoo-ray (as the boys say) Gordon is on the mend!

craft-time from cracker barrel christmas clearance

2011-01-29T09:22:00.000-05:00

I really like alliteration...just ask the gals I work with on the magazine...my headlines are always some alluring alliteration :-)

Yeah, the point...

it always takes me a while...

Today is just a little photo day from after-Christmas craft that we snagged at Cracker Barrel for just under $2 each.

the boys version of a gingerbread house...which was called a gingerbread garage...

From the Library of Epiphanies...

2011-01-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

Not really...
but I couldn't think of a catchy title for this post.

You may remember back in the summer when I first started to blog,

I mentioned that I'd had an "epiphany" of sorts and things would be changing,

from the blog to the business to the life, mostly the life.

Epiphanies take a while some times. I didn't and don't feel comfortable quite yet writing about it, as I'm not sure what it's all about yet.

But here's a peek at the books that have had some contribution to this season of epiphanies.

Basically, a reality check for the purpose of marriage.

We all get into it because we want to be happy and we want someone who's going to contribute to that.

Alas, that is not the point as marriage was designed.

Time for a perspective shift.

Um...a New York Time's Bestseller for a reason...

this is the Chapmans...

and probably not the version you'd have suspected, if you ever thought about it...

Mary Beth is a real person and she's candid, and who can't appreciate that?!

She's no award-winning author, but this book just may change your life...

and there's no way to tell for sure in what way...

and you may not even know until months later...

(lying on the table are issues of the magazine that I work for...I was trying to be all artistic with the compass cover blurred out...:-)

Yep, this one's the big one...Radical by David Platt...and it's just that...
though it shouldn't seem radical...
it's not anything we haven't read in the Bible...
but we're comfortable...
with what we want...
and we have blindspots...
big blindspots...

It took us months to read this because we had to chew on some things...
we're still chewing on some things...
Thanks Edliniae, on of the most godly women I know, for giving me a copy...
you never know, I just might do something...radical...

Up next is the reading list that I'm working on:

Operation World is suggested as an accompaniment to the radical experiment, which we're attempting this year...1) read the Bible in a year 2) Pray for every country in the world in a year 3) Serve out of our context at least once this year 4) Give...sacrificially...till it hurts 5) be a part of a community of believers

Operation World has so many resources. There's something about every country in it. It's such a good tool for involving the kids, too. It's not "kid friendly", per se, but it makes you think about stuff and places to teach your kids. There's also a reading/praying plan for the year and a CD in this edition.

This was actually and Christmas gift for Charlie a couple years ago right after we bought the farm. The Encyclopedia of Country Living. A perfectly great recommendation from a friend that works at our library. It's just a great resource to have around...we read whatever, as needed...it is truly an encyclopedia...

This is Arwen...who managed to skip out on the Christmas card this year...we tried, but she's a little snob some times and she wants you to beg her to be in pictures, and it just gets old.
I've got three other people to beg to smile for the camera.
She just shows up when she feels like it.
In this case, she wanted something from me...right then...
and she plopped down or pranced around right there in front of the camera until she made her point.

See, I had this just set up so...well...like I wanted it...

This book...Treehouses and other Cool Stuff...was a Father's day gift two years ago...Now, we have some where to try this stuff out. It's got plans for race cars, forts, zip lines, tree houses, cannons!

Yep, I really need to read this if I'm going to be a farmer's wife...
I'll let you know how that goes!

Woody wanted to do a book review...

Hole in the Gospel...this is written by the president of World Vision, Rich Stearns...just starting it...

I couldn't help myself...this is just a pile of our all-time faves and ones we return to over and over again.

Yep, the boys saw all the attention my books were getting,
and wanted a little camera love for their 2010 faves...
of which this Richard Scarry book is the most popular return read...
(At one time, I was collecting all the "pretty" and "vintage" or "classics" and this is one they just love...
some of the rest of my picks just look good on the shelves!)
and The Gruffalo is a close second...
among many, many others.

Book-camera love turned into...
teepee-, or tipi, camera love...

"No, Wee-um, I want to be in front..."

"Now, I can smile...just wanted to make sure the camera could see little ol' sweet me!"

I just love these wild child(s).

But, it's difficult to get some camera love from these two...it takes work...a lot of work.
The books...they pose just fine!

little photo for you

2011-01-16T18:43:00.003-05:00

Just for today:

I love pictures, so here's one for you:

He's saying cheese as he's throwing his head way back.

He's sweet. He's always happy.

But, his happy is a very loud happy.

(and yes, the house was a wreck that day.

But it was before we did our office re-org,

so it's not like that now :-)

Welcome home little Allie!

2011-01-08T18:56:00.005-05:00

Nine months ago, Allie was born.

Last night, she came home...

...from Ethiopia...

(yeah, just grab the tissue...)

Her Ethiopian name, Almaz, means diamonds. And what is more precious than a diamond? Nothing- as far as stones go. It is the most precious, hardest and most expensive.

But, Allie is more precious...to God...and to Joel and Naomi Johnson.

Joel and Naomi's adoption journey officially started about two years ago. But their hearts have been set to adopt for many years. They've planned and hoped and dreamed and saved for it.

This summer they received their first photo of four-month old Almaz.

She was just so beautiful and I remember thinking

I cannot wait to take pictures of that baby girl!!!

They had her photo...and there was...

hope...

and then there was waiting...

for months...

and apparently, somewhere along the way, all hell got the memo

that this little girl had

a home and a mom and dad
and a brother

waiting on her...

After a last-minute, whirlwind trip in October that involved Ethiopian court and a special meeting with Allie's birth mother, Joel and Naomi were officially Allie's parents...

but Allie was still in Ethiopia...

Their three-year old had stayed behind with his aunt and uncle.

I think a lot about how Naomi must have felt on the journey back home...

without Allie...

and without Luke...

her heart torn between two halves of the world...

Once they returned they would be waiting on word that they could come get her and finalize

the adoption through the U.S. embassy.

In December, they got the phone call. Naomi would leave Christmas Eve for Ethiopia.

But, alas...

just days before she was to leave, the trip was canceled because

the embassy required paperwork that didn't exist.

Naomi was crushed.

We were all crushed.

It might be months...

and we waited...and ten days later....(after a whole lot of praying)

She posted on facebook...

"I am going to get Allie...TOMORROW!!!!"

And you could hear the hollerin' across facebook.

But the worst was not behind her...

From inclement weather, canceled and delayed flights, to a layover with failed alarm clocks...Naomi barely made her flight to Addis Ababa.

In her words,

"I finally got a hotel room and a new ticket for the next morning,

I collapsed in bed after setting two alarm clocks which both failed to wake me up.

Miraculously, I made it on the flight even though I arrived at the airport 15 min before departure,

but God is faithful, and here I am."

She arrived at the orphanage to find Allie had been sick for three days with vomiting and diarrhea.

The embassy appointment was scheduled for the next morning.

And that appointment was canceled...

and a whole bunch of people were praying...

Last week Joel and Naomi celebrated their 7th anniversary...a world away from each other...

This was how the Johnsons looked seven years ago...

and this is how the Johnsons looked last night

She finally got an embassy appointment. It was finally official. But, Naomi did not receive Allie's visa until moments before they were to leave Ethiopia for home. The plane Naomi and Allie were supposed to be on was hit while parked at the airport in Addis Ababa.

What?!

I know...and this is just a small snippet of the obstacles Naomi faced and surmounted while on her trip...

But home they came...

The first moment Luke saw his baby sister and all four Johnsons were together!


can you feel the excitement?!

Welcome to our little corner of the world, Allie Grace Johnson!

We are so happy and thankful you made it!

Luke holds Allie for the first time

And this is the first attempt at the first family photo...

It was pretty easy to see that Allie remembered and knew her daddy! And that Joel had dearly missed her...

And that Naomi missed Luke...

(let me insert here- that if any of these photos don't look tack sharp, it's because I was shaking to try to keep from weeping uncontrollably...)

Allie met Aunt Heather for the first time!

And Allie knows her brother...and Luke so loves his little sister!

Allie met lots of new friends last night!

Thank you Joel and Naomi for letting us be some small part of this very long journey for you all.

I knew, seven years ago while I watched through my lens as you took your vows and your dear parents prayed over you, that your journey would be a very special one.

Happy 7th Anniversary, Joel and Naomi!

Welcome home Allie Johnson! (which was Jan. 7th)

(I'm noting all the sevens as I type!)

You can follow their blog The Johnson Journies and read more of their story.

God is good!

A change of scenery

2011-01-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

So, you'll see in the coming days that this blog is finally getting some attention. Not only will I continue to write about our family and farm adventures, but I'll throw in some session reflections, too.

And here's the first...Baby J...

I love his family. And I'm happy that I had the opportunity to photograph him and share a couple hours of his precious first days with his mom and granny.

He has a beautiful head full of hair...and he knew I was near, trying so hard to keep one little eye open...but we'd wait...and wait...until he forgot...

Baby J...

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

Gotta get me some that SPOON BREAD!!!

2010-09-19T23:33:00.002-04:00

...now, I know you don't have music in your head when you see that phrase...

But, I do...

I can hear these two college guys with guitars...

singing this anthem...that the Berea Chamber of Commerce, I'm sure, still doesn't know existed...

SPOON BREAD...gotta get me some of that...SPOON BREAD...

I won't completely set the scene...(it involved some portable potties and tents, etc.)

But I can't help but sing it when I see this

and this...

Oh...wait...

you're probably asking,

"What the heck is spoon bread?"

Well, the short answer is eggy cornbread.

The long answer is- it's the dish that Boone Tavern Hotel is the most famous for. I'm not totally sure, but it may have originated there. And, Boone Tavern is the now five-star hotel located right on Main Street in Berea. Opened in 1909, the hotel was the brainchild of the college president's wife.

And from this eggy-cornbread dish came the idea for yet another festival in Berea, Kentucky. The 14th Annual Spoon Bread Festival happened right here in my little corner of the world. And, it sentimentally marks the anniversary of my move to college from Alabama. The first Spoon Bread Festival was held just a couple weeks after I unpacked my bags here for the first time.

(side note: my family treated me: my first night ever in Berea was spent at Boone Tavern Hotel. It was also the night that Princess Di was killed in that car accident. The next day, I moved into a dorm room for the first time.)

OK...I know...

Move on...

the only semi-decent shot I managed to grab while keeping my hoodlums from hoodlumming somebody. Four adults is just not enough for three boys...

ANYWAY...

the above shot I got on Friday night. There's one shot that's missing: my mom and I walking the Spoon Bread one-mile fun walk. We came in last...dead last...behind a 3-year-old. (I took a photo to prove it: my mom walking, with the lights of the police cruiser just behind her to escort the fun-mile caboose up Chestnut Street. I don't know what happened, but the image was completely blown out!)

The other photos I got on Saturday, while boys #1, #2 and #3 were at our friends and we were out on a date.

Yep, that's exactly what you do on a date in Berea, Kentucky. You go to the Spoon Bread Festival (or one of the other 500 festivals we've got going on here) and get some spoon bread- that costs a whopping $3 a cup!

We thought that was a little steep. So today, I made my own flippin' spoon bread. I'll share the recipe pretty soon. I wanted to try it out first before I photographed the process. I must say, it was pretty good for an Alabama girl, but we are pretty darn good at cornbread.

And you don't make this stuff in an iron skillet. They have a spoon bread baker, made right here in Berea, that they sell at the Boone Tavern gift shop. (in that Tater Knob Pottery slideshow, it looks like a deep pie dish) I don't have one. I've always wanted one. I just made mine in a casserole dish. I know, can you believe I don't have pictures of it.

So we wrapped up our date night in the Sonic Drive-Thru and a little jaunt to the dollar store.

I know...we're really livin' the life!

The last date night was at our place. I love date night. Even when it's not our turn to go out on a date (and spend some big money at the dollar store).

Our friends' kids are just sooo good with our boys. The boys just love them. When it's our turn, most of the time, we just sit around while they do all the work entertaining our kids. It's kind of nice :-)

Here some scenes from a couple weeks ago.

Love date night...

love spoon bread...

love eating spoon bread on date night...

only comes 'round once a year!

Where I've been

2010-09-16T22:35:00.000-04:00

...two places...

at the computer working on a stinking blog post about my bathroom

and...

sick in bed...

oh, yeah- I had to work a couple days, too.

So here's an interim post until I can't get my bathroom blogged about. 

Arghhh! I cannot tell you how irritated I am about it.  

AnyHOOO...

Last Wednesday and Thursday...

so sick...

you know, 

yuck sick

:-(

I was in bed, still way yuckier than the rest of the family who had already recovered from this velociraptor of a virus 

and this was my view when the fellows came back from an errand

They just busted in so excited to give me flowers. That's the back of Walker's head there, blowing out as fast as he blew in. Charlie said they spotted them growing in our fence and remembered on the way back from town to go get them. I just love those guys!

So, there's plenty more I could talk about that's happened since last post, but I won't bore you with the mundane details of trying to convince a child that 4 years old is plenty old enough to poop in the potty...His latest argument went something like this:

"But mommy, how would you feel if," imagine him sitting on the potty with the door open and yelling this to you in the other room, "I were bigger and you were little-er and I told you to use the potty.

Now, how would you feel? You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Oh yeah, I wasn't gonna go into that...or that as punishment, Charlie taped his thumb with electrical tape for a few hours...killed him...that kid always has his thumb in his mouth. Not too happy.

So skip ahead...

to today...

Backstory: I have a job meeting lots of super people in law enforcement. There is no typical day or typical person in this line of work. And I'm so grateful to have these opportunities.

Assignments I've had range from meeting an 11-child Amish family in their home without electricity

or running water to photographing the governor.

I've photographed from the floor at Rupp Arena a UK/UofL game.

And I've watched the Thunder Over Louisville fireworks display from a

Fish and Wildlife boat on the Ohio river.

and too much more to mention...

Of all them, the Amish family was my favorite assignment.

No comparison.

Anyway, today was no different. But this one...

right here in Berea!

At the Madison Southern High Homecoming Parade

Why? You're probably wondering...

Well, that nice young man in that above photo was the National School Resource Officer of the Year.

And because, this summer, he had a major unexpected medical ordeal, he was unable to attend the recognition ceremony in Louisville. The administration presented Berea Police Department Officer James "Doty" Harris the award today and made him Grand Marshal of the Homecoming Parade.

And as it would so happen, our magazine is featuring school resource officers in the next issue.

So, I took the boys and the hubby to work with me this evening.

They think I have a pretty cool job.

They get to meet police officers and...

they get candy...

Lots of candy...

Enough candy that even big brother wanted to share

And they got to see tractors and big rigs, to boot!

Notice the thumb-- wrapped in electrical tape!

Hey Liam, how old are you today?

2010-09-05T23:59:00.004-04:00

I started a tradition last year on his 3rd birthday of balloons in their bed when they woke up. Except I forgot that I had a tradition this year. So when he woke up and went to the bathroom, I made him go back to bed, so I could hurriedly blow up some balloons and toss them on his bed. He wasn't exactly surprised, but Walker loved it. "O-wenge" he said. Walker really likes orange.

Liam's reaction to me saying, "gimme some birthday love"

And they played some random, newly-invented game with the balloons, like so:

I asked him where he wanted eat for his birthday, if he could eat anywhere. "Arby's. They have milkshakes. Let's go through the drive-thru and get a milkshake," he screamed.

So, that's what we did...and headed to the park.

This moment was a little surreal for me.

He went from three to four, and that's a big step!

After spending some of the day cruising in the new(er) minivan, we headed home for Sunday naps.

It went like this...

...we napped...

...they didn't!

When we chose to wake up and let them out of their cage, Liam opened an e-card from grandma (Charlie's mom). It had a matching game. He played it while I finished the cake. Below is a major milestone.

He had never used a mouse on a computer before. And with some practice, he mastered it...and this matching game that he played more than 20 times.

"No, mom, I played 12 times," he corrected me.

That e-card was an amazing idea! He LOVED it!

"Hey Walker, Happy birthday to myself!"

Yeah, I know...gross, huh?

Don't worry, that lick marked the spot that his piece was cut from!

Today's Trivia:

What mother forgets to buy candles for a birthday cake?

Answer:

(Ding Ding Ding)- you guessed it- Lizzard!

This is the third birthday (between the two oldest) that I've forgotten.

Guess I have to throw a party to make up for it!

Can we get more fake, people?

Oh yeah, we can!

I know what you're thinking.

Really, I do.

Why in the world would you get that boy a pink birthday cake?

Well, it's like this:

I had a strawberry cake mix. I didn't have icing.

He asked for blueberry icing.

OK. Sure.

Went to Wal-mart.

No blueberry icing. But hey, there's strawberry icing.

I'll grab that.

No, it did not occur to me that it was pink...

until I started spreading it!

And you know what?

He didn't care!

Have you ever had the feeling before that, "man, that Liz sure is weird."? Well...

Let's say you have a four-year old.

And let's say you're picking out a birthday present.

What would you get your first born son?

Do you have a guess at what he's getting from us?

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace, Jr.

Again...I know what you're thinking...

...man, they start brainwashing early...

well, why not?

The idea actually came last week when Liam took an active interest in helping around the house.

"Mom, I really like it when you give me a job to do."

Charlie and I threw each other a couple of happy-shocked looks that said, "let the brainwashing begin!"

So, we gave Liam a few chores, like taking diapers to the trash, picking up toys,

clearing the table and feeding Arwen.

He now gets paid commissions. And let me tell you: that's one motivated kid!

His commissions are small. But he's proud.

And, he's thinks nickels are neater than quarters and dimes...so, I say, SWEET!

Because he could pay his way to college just by picking up diapers around here!

And Walker does everything Liam does, which in this case, is a very good thing.

Walker likes the look of Liam's money :-)

At the end of the week (yesterday), he counted his money (with a little help) and we portioned out his giving first, then his saving, and then the rest for his choosing.

Liam's total wages for the week was $2.26.

All I have to say is that he better go find him a union to join because there's going to be

some pay cuts going on around here.

Back to the birthday boy:

What better to end a perfect day, than to show the boys a perfect night sky.

This was a first for our boys. I remember the night we won the auction for the farm. We came back and parked on side of the road and looked up at the stars. The boys were asleep in the car. We thought, Wow, how awesome that our boys will see this someday. Today was the first of many somedays.

In my whole life, there's been only one other place that the view was better than the sky above our farm tonight. That was Haleakala Crater on Maui in Hawaii. There are no words to describe such a sight. One of our friends with us on that trip said, as he looked up at the innumerable stars, "it gives new meaning to God's promise to Abraham- that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky."

And can you imagine what the night sky must have looked like to Abraham,
with no electricity to power street lamps or houses?

Happy Birthday, Liam!

You are loved!

A Photo for Friday

2010-09-03T15:41:00.003-04:00

The view from our dashboard in our 1992 Mazda Protege. Through the window, you might recognize the back end of a red Hummer :-). We like the irony.

Take note of the mileage :-)

Can you tell that we're proud of this little puppy?

We think that our fellow parents in the preschool pick-up line probably think one of three things about us:

"those poor people probably put every extra dime they have into preschool, and I bet their kids don't bathe"

"I hope they don't park to close to my car with THAT"

"They are WEIRD and must listen to that Dave Ramsey nut"

and they would all be right!

No, just kidding! Our kids do get bathed (at least occasionally) and at this point,

it's not every last dime for preschool.

The rest would be right, though.

Because if we do park too close to you, especially in the winter, you might get smoked out!

But, can you tell that...

We DON'T care!

It's not that we don't care about you getting smoked out. It's that we don't care what people might think of our choices- not this week anyway :-)

This car has been very good to us. My mom had to buy it new when I was 16 because I rear ended someone and created a new financial burden on her. She let me drive it a little when I was in college because my sister passed on a vehicle to us. My last year of college mom let me take it to Kentucky. Then, she was generous enough to give it to me when I get married in 2000.

That little girl has driven the route from here to Bama about 100 times, I bet. She's been to the Grand Canyon, upstate New York (2 or 3 times), she's been to Dallas, Texas a couple times and a bunch more places. And, she's transporting our three boys, all in the back seat, rather comfortably.

But, she's not a four-wheel drive.

She smokes because in her very early years, her oil wasn't changed routinely. Then along came Charlie to sweep me off my feet and save her from eminent demise.

She loves him. And he loves her.

And we can't seem to part with her.

Until this week, she was one of three vehicles. We sold the Corolla and she is now back to being my main source of transportation to and from work.

She's a good ride.

Bring on the blueberries

2010-08-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

Sorry I didn't start this post with some awesome shot I took of fresh blueberries. I meant to do that all summer, and well, I just never took the photo.

So we bought a farm. And now it's time to farm. Blueberries.

(and maybe some organic dairy- but that's later).

Charlie's been interested in growing his own blueberries for more than a handful of years. He's done a lot of research, so what I share will be a dumbed-down version of what he knows. Maybe I can talk him in to blogging about the process some time.

Now that he's finished building the house, it's on to the blueberries. He loves blueberries. I love blackberries. He's going to grow a couple acres of blueberries and I get a couple blackberry bushes (I don't know, do blackberries grow on bushes or vines?).

He started his research with this fellow, Larry Martin, at Bluegrass Blueberries. He is awesome and so knowledgeable. Charlie talked with him on the phone a couple times and then we paid him a visit in August (on our way to Alabama in the last road trip in the Corolla). We were pleasantly surprised to find him so eager to share his knowledge with us. He has got to be the best resource in Kentucky (and maybe anywhere) on blueberries.

the wild ones hoarding all the wagons at Bluegrass Blueberries

From there, we had a long journey to the Gulf Coast ahead of us. Between baby feedings, brothers fighting and eating chicken nuggets, we dreamed and planned blueberries. I love that feeling- dreaming and finding a way to make it happen. There's a lot of that going on around here.

I think it's a sickness I have. Dreaming isn't enough for me. I have to make it happen. And it isn't about money for me, either. It's about the dream, and living it!

Back to blueberries:

Before we went on our trip, Charlie took soil samples from the place he was sure to be planting them.

He was also sure that we had plenty of room there. He underestimated.

Earlier this week, we actually went out to that plot and measured it. What we thought was more than two acres was actually much less than an acre. And Charlie wasn't too thrilled.

He wished he had sampled a larger area and a couple different areas. So that's what we did. He grabbed his 100-foot measuring tape, that he scored at a yard sale for $1, and his clipboard with his acreage measurements. We all jumped in the truck and surveyed the farm for the right spots.

And when the boys got bored, they pitched in, too.

The last place we measured and marked turned out to be the best place, with the most room for growth. We have almost 24 acres, but most of it is a steep hillside. There's plenty of spots for blueberries, but only one spot, it seemed would accommodate a two-acre plot.

He took a soil sample from the new plot and rushed it to our cooperative extension office in the hopes that we'll be able to plant these puppies this fall.


Liam hands off our dirt for the soil test

We're hoping to get the results back within two weeks and find out if we need to add anything to our soil before we plant them this fall.


taking a break to feed the neighbor's horse

Hopefully, blueberries are in our future and in our ground this fall.

coming to a close...

2010-08-25T23:53:00.002-04:00

...our wonderful summer...

Well, my wonderful summer. Liam started Preschool last week which marked his official end of summer. But these are the last days of my summer. A maternity-leave summer.

So, we're filling the last days with some fun and here are some examples:

eating pudding

finger painting and clean up

being a monster

learning about David & Goliath (bottom) and learning to spell family names (top). This was the day I learned that Liam could spell his name. I suggested we work on writing his name, so he agreed, but wanted me to draw the letters. "If you tell me what letter to start with," I said. "L," he said. And when I was done he went on, without being prompted. We were both so proud after he finished. Then he sat down and traced over each one. YAY!

Liam says I make good pizza. Well, thanks Liam. The thing is, I used to make good pizza and then I got a job and had kids and haven't made homemade pizza since. This was halfway homemade. The bread crust was a Jiffy Mix- which was super easy, super good. He helped me make it, too. And I took pictures. But I thought you'd gag if you saw his dirty fingernails (I almost did). He did wash his hands, but I didn't supervise. Next time, I'll be more prepared for the photo shoot.

And here is baby Tristan enjoying his play mat while Brothers #1 & #2 are outside with Daddy. Nice, a bit of peace and a bit of quiet to the tune of whatever that star plays with the blinking lights.

Other summer reflections:

celebrating Walker's 2nd birthday on the front porch

Meeting the "third arrow" (more to come on that later)

And then just 5 days later, taking the whole lot of them to see Toy Story 3. You know how it is: you bring a baby home, you're crazed with no sleep. You're weepy all day for four days, then you wake up with renewed strength ready to conquer the world and three boys- so you take your brood to see Toy Story, with more adults than children-

And you find that four adults is not enough- the 4-year-old was rocking the chair in front of him, the 2-year-old whacked the kid in front of him with his Woody doll, while the newborn SLEPT through the loudest movie of all time. And what did I do? Cried like a baby. I left there thinking I should just drive Liam on to college and get it over with. My sister was mortified at her nephews' behavior. But, I thought they did pretty darn good for their first theater movie. You can see in the above sequence a small glimpse into our everyday, all-day routine- smile, steal toy, Dad drops the thunder- rinse, lather, repeat!

But on went the summer...with a lot more first for our boys...

Charlie bought his first tractor, which is a 1961 John Deere 4010.

I was shocked at how much a more-than-forty-year old tractor holds its value.

And, I should note: we had the t-shirts before- all collected as gifts for the boys at one time or another.

We were lucky to have one to fit each of them (I even had a pink one on).

Skating for the first time at Club Arena Skating Rink. They weren't too sure at first, but manage to stay on their feet with these nifty skates (pictured above) even with their thumbs in their mouths most of the time.

Liam was in his first wedding- Charlie's brother's wedding. Lake Mills, Wisconsin. A long way from here. With three kids, one of whom was four weeks old, this trip was lotta work with little sleep.

Liam was so good and didn't suck his thumb the whole trip down the aisle, so he got a James tank engine.

Next time, we won't promise such an expensive reward. The other boys were also very good, as you'll see below. Good enough for me to grab some photos like the above and below.

Walker happily wore the hat I picked for him.

He has to have a hat on, most of the time and this one is much better
than the Lightning McQueen hat.

Liam really enjoyed playing with his cousin, who lives in California. They had so much fun.

And they danced the night away at the reception.

The best memory I have of the whole trip was when the deejay played my request as the last song of the evening, "Life is a Highway" from the Cars movie. Both the boys were exhausted, but when they heard the tune, they couldn't help but move. The dance floor was empty while the crowd moved to see the couple depart. So Charlie held the baby and Liam moved and grooved on the floor. I held Walker and we danced and spun circles. I'll never forget his overjoyed face as the room was spinning in vibrant colors beyond us.

The next day:

Their first trip to the zoo. The Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a great zoo and it was free! if you're in or headed to Wisconsin, check it out http://www.vilaszoo.org/.

Each one had their first carousel ride, including the baby who I was wearing in a "frontpack".

And then a stop at Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor, a child's delight with a carousel out front and enough noise inside that your child goes unnoticed even in high volume...very kid friendly...check it out sometime. My boys shared the Teddy Bear Pancakes.

Liam and me splitting a chocolate malt at Ella's Deli. I was tired. Can you tell?

We had a two-week down, of sorts. Then on to the beach to visit my sister before Liam was off to preschool and I headed back to work. It was a first for Walker and Tristan.

If I can give you four tips for a Gulf Shores, Alabama-beach trip with kids, here they are:

1) Photograph them early---at 6:30am just after sunrise! The light is better and the kids are happier.

2) Go to the The Hangout and let the kids play in the massive sandpit with tunnels and get

pictures of them in the bubbles! (I hope yours do better than mine did.

They were too enamored with the bubbles to smile.)

3) Go to Lulu's. Also super kid friendly and the food is outstanding.

There's a live band playing that drowns out noisy children, but the kids love the band. Lulu's also has a sandpit, but this one with a neat water feature that had mine thoroughly amused. We had to wait 45 minute at Lulu's, but it seemed nothing with the kids having fun. Note: I do not usually dress my boys to match, but I knew there would be lots of other kids here, so I needed to spot them easily.

"Mom, those girls won't let me dump water on their castle!"

And 4) Don't leave without having your family photo, or at least the kids' photo,

in the shark's mouth at Souvenir City. This place has been there since before I was a kid.

And if a shark's mouth doesn't suit, there's an octopus mouth just next door

(though it's only been there a few years).

Gulf Shores is an amazing place for the family. I've been going with my own family since I was 7, I think.

My sister actually lives in Orange Beach, home to the Wharf. She blogs here Canal Road Kelley.

Charlie proposed to me on the beach at Gulf Shores, so we celebrated our 10th anniversary by visiting that spot on the beach. Then we had dinner at the Original Oyster House. AMAZING! I had the Mahi Down on Da Bayou...oh, my, gosh!!!! If you go there, get that! And a glass of sweet tea! We ended the night with a Ferris Wheel ride at The Wharf.

Are you still reading this? My two followers? You know who you are...

And just like that...Liam's fabulous summer was over...

and to me, it felt like his childhood was over when I saw this

"Hey, I'm Liam. What are you guys building?"

And if you're still reading this- Stay tuned....really. There's some misadventures about to happen around here.

And now that the summer is ending and the days full only of the children are winding down...

Up next: the chronicles of blueberry farming, some neat features of our new house

and maybe some sweet tea on top.

Milestones

2010-08-22T00:16:00.001-04:00

Plenty of milestones here this week.

The oldest started preschool. And on the cusp of his first day, he completely dressed himself and wanted to brush his teeth three different times, all independent of us. Just a month ago, he would scream and throw his head back when you went at him with a tooth brush. Things change fast. I didn't cry when we dropped him off the first day- I was too busy taking pictures of him making friends. The second day- I squawled just waiting in line to pick him up. I could vividly picture him as a newborn and it was if I blinked and he was crawling, walking, talking and now brushing his own teeth. Yep, things change so fast.

Here he is coming to get me. He's the "monster from the closet" and I'm hiding in the tent (his bed sheet).

The youngest has slept through the night (11-12 hours) for three nights (celebrate good times, come on!). And the middlest (yes, I know it's not an official word, but it's my word and I do that sort of thing) wakes up singing the words to "Life is a Highway". It's a rite of passage for two-year olds in this house (it was in the old house, too.) If you can imagine, it sounds more like this: "life...hiiiiwayyyy....allniiilongg...dribe it....alllniilooooong." And sometimes, he'll bang his little drum in accompaniment, but he always bops his head. He's funny.

Here he is with his "poo-ey"

They're all funny. I really like them. A lot.

And when I get my act together and become Suzy Homemaker and SuperMom, I'll post photos on this here blog (since I am a photographer and well, there's no excuse for this kind of behavior!) UPDATE: Yay! Check mark on the to-do list- I came back & posted photos.

Bear with me, though. Things just might get interesting around here- from mommy-ness to farminess, from decorating style to photo style, there's always something goin' on 'round here. And the hubby- he's none to happy 'bout it 'cuz my brains always involve his back. Stay tuned...and in the mean time, I'm going to work on a nice looking blog and a format of sorts. What do you think about "Rethinking Thursday" or "Sometime ago Saturday"? (where I might go back in time a bit to an old project or memory or photo from the past--all mostly from the recent past). And you just never know, we might have a new blog name and address. Crazy, eh? Yep, the partner in crime mentioned that one yesterday and the one he suggested I really liked...of course, I was like, "What? Where was that idea a year ago or just two months ago when I sent out invitations to an open house with this name?" oh well, such is life! (that's my new phrase that I'll overuse for about two weeks)

I must retire now...not to bed, but to help the one next to me shop for ...uh-hum...how do I say it?....well, yep...you guessed it....three kids=minivan. We held out, we did, really we did. But, 3 kids in a Corolla on a 6+ hour road trip= not so much fun. That would be our milestone- giving in, as our single friends hide from us in shame while our friends with just one kid and a minivan say, "see I told you, you can't do it!" and our friends with four kids think, "well, at least you tried." Maybe we will still hold out yet.

The story of a Thousand Hills

2010-06-14T22:59:00.002-04:00

Charlie and I have been married for ten years this August. In that decade, we have always dreamed about having a farm with lots of rolling hills and having our children grow up in the country.

It's not that we live in a metropolis. We actually live in a small town, that most people would say is in a rural area. But it's pretty uptown for us. Charlie grew up on a 120-acre vegetable farm 30 minutes from the nearest town. And I grew up in a rural area, a 15-minute drive from a town or a grocery store. We know rural. So to live in Berea where Wal-mart is only 2 miles away, and that's the farthest thing from us in this town, is more convenience and big city than we've ever known. All the best restaurants are within walking distance as are the best shops, including more than one chocolate or fudge shoppe.

Now, the kids will grow up in the country, Lord willing.

Years ago, as I would drive by plots of beautiful acreage, the thought would always cross my mind, "I own the cattle on a thousand hills," which is the Lord speaking to David in Psalm 50, though I didn't know the scripture address until recently. But, the scripture always came to mind, and I didn't really know why. It always spoke a personal message that God cares about our dreams, as there are some He stores up in our hearts. Honestly, Charlie and I never expected to afford this dream until after our kids were grown.

But, the Lord made a way for it to happen, sooner than later.

We always thought we would start out with 100 or more acres, and I thought it would to take at least that to have a thousand hills :-). But the auction we found was 23 acres. When we first drove by it, I was a little disappointed- it was all one hill. But we parked and hiked up the hill to where on old house and an old barn, both dilapidated, still stood.

And that's when I felt like I could breathe- for the first time in months. There was the view- of a thousand hills (no I didn't actually count them!). And all the amenities we had listed in our dream place- a creek, a pond, a beautiful home site, three barns, trees and a view.

Something to note about Charlie: he's not a super confident decision maker. So, when he's got a feeling about something, I'm on board. The only other time I know that he had a strong feeling and acted on it, was with me when he proposed...and well, I like how that turned out.

For this property, he found a random auction poster at a bank and had that feeling. When we drove by and then later, walked to the top of the hill, he still had that feeling. He did all the leg work to find out what we needed to get the financial backing for a soon coming auction, and he still had that feeling. I didn't, but he did, so I went with it.

One of Charlie's favorite bands is Third Day, and they have a song called, "These Thousand Hills." One line in it I particularly like says, "the footprints of a Father's love." We won the auction! There were two separate tracts and we went to the auction hoping to get one tract for what we ended up paying for both together.

I really can't remember if it was that day or within the next few days, I mentioned a name for the farm and he liked. It was easier than naming any of our three kids...

Thousand Hills Farm is now home.

It is finished and it is beginning...

2010-06-13T00:34:00.002-04:00

As I write my first blog, we are sleeping in our newly finished house for the fifth night while awaiting the impending arrival of our third son, due tomorrow. Early labor began a couple weeks ago, settled down and has seen some advancement in recent days.

I'm tired of being pregnant, but I'm tired in general and I really want more nights' rest before bringing a newborn home. But, as I write this, it is 12:36 am- and I'm not exactly falling asleep. I'm keeping my husband company as he installs a vessel faucet into our new master bath. He wouldn't be installing it so late, but we have an appraiser coming Monday, so that we might close on this loan soon.

Loan...arghhh!

One important thing to note about me, and my husband...we hate debt. We paid our first house off, after seven years, last April on tax day 2009. Just four days before, we found our dream property, which we named "Thousand Hills Farm." Two weeks later, we won it at auction! Two weeks after that, we screamed "we're debt free" live and in person on the radio to Dave Ramsey. Ten days later, we closed on the loan for our farm. Four months later, we sold our paid-for house to my mom who planned to retire here. We were almost debt free again, but soon watched a loan rise as our house went up. A month later (we're in October 2009), we realized our third child was on the way.

No problem- we'd be wayyyy done with the house by then!

With my mom still working in Alabama, we were blessed enough to stay in our old house during the entire build. Fast forward nine months. May 29th I went to labor hall but was sent home. That week we had a trim guy, painters and flooring folks finishing their work. Mom retired June 1st. We moved our furniture June 5th. Polyurethane and paint fumes had subsided enough for us to sleep in our new house June 8th. We just barely beat the baby, but the boxes are still packed and I'm tired.

Friday was my last day of work for maternity leave. And today, after much suggestion from others, I started a blog...about it all.

That's me. That's this year. Did I say I was tired? We're all tired...including my oldest son, the three-year old, who broke his leg Memorial Day and scoots himself around quite well, leaving a trail of cast scuff marks on my new floors...

Elizabeth