Mr. and Mrs. Skinner

I had the honor of photographing a wedding today for a sweet, young couple. Clay graduates from basic training in a few short months and Brittany will join him as they start their new life over in a new place. I pray nothing but the best for them as they go on this journey together!

Thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of your big day!

Christmas Chaos

So the holiday season is officially upon us and it has been pure chaos. Not bad chaos, just chaos.

I have spent way too much money, gone without sleep way too many nights (darn you, Elfie), and have caught myself on more than one occasion feeling like Christmas just isn't as much fun as it use to be.

And it's not, but that is my fault. I tried blaming it on the fact that I'm grown up now and have more responsibilities, but lets be honest. It is simply because I've let the crazy of this life overshadow the real "Reason for the season".

So, I'm officially going to take a step back and just enjoy this time with my family and friends. I'm going to cherish every second of Christmas with my babies. I'm going to thank God for sending me a sweet Savior so that I will not ever have to endure the real weight of my sins.

Merry Christmas from my little family to yours!

more changes.

Just when things almost seem normal again one email can completely throw everything off.

So I knew what I was getting in to when I signed up to be a foster parent. You take in these kids who have all kinds of crazy pasts, horrible emotional and mental issues and even sometimes physical disabilities. You bring these kids into your home and family and you take care of them. Not just the basics, food, clothing, etc. You listen to their stories, their awful stories of abuse and neglect. You hear how they still love the people you consider absolute monsters for what they did to their own babies and you cannot imagine why they still have this connection with them. You deal with complete emotional breakdowns and hissy fits that would Kim Kardashian look like an angel. There are siblings in other homes, in other counties, and sometimes other states. You have to constantly be on look out for the last crazies these kids lived with.

It's exhausting really.

But then, through all of this crazy, you fall absolutely in love with these babies. There is a bond there like no other. You did not give birth to these kids but they are yours. And then, as fast as they showed up on your doorstep they disappear to go live with "forever families" or other bio family members.

You know what happens then? You cry. And then cry some more. And then ask yourself, "Why in the heck would I put myself through this insanity!?"
I can tell you why. I prayed for years for God to show me where he wanted to use me. I wanted a place to minister and be a blessing. I don't preach or teach. I sure don't sing. But I can take care of babies. I can love them and pray for them and prepare them for things to come.

This is my ministry. This is where God has placed me for this season of my life. And while it is so rewarding, yet absolutely heartbreaking, I will enjoy this time.

Please pray for one of my sweeties and my family and I as we start the process of moving her to a potential forever home. We want nothing but the best for her!

Mr. and Mrs.

Life saver. That's what they were for each other. 

Both previously married. Both ended badly. She had a sweet baby girl. He wanted kids. A chance encounter and the rest is history. 

My Uncle Jeff finally met his real one and only! I absolutely love my new Aunt Mandy and my sweet new cousin, Brooklyn. 

These three were just meant for each other. 

After months of computer issues I am just getting these up, but they had a beautiful July wedding!

Oh, and they are expecting another sweet baby! Miss Baylie Grace will be here just before Christmas!

12 Angel Ornaments

There was this one day, just a few days before Thanksgiving, when I was around 13. I was at my Meme and Papa's house just lounging in the recliner with a bowl of rice and Little House on the Prairie on the television. Life was grand.
Then the phone rang. *insert creepy JAWS music* (Fair warning, nothing scary happened, you can sit back in your seat.)
Back to the ringing phone. My way too tired 13-year-old bones just couldn't manage to get up to get the phone that WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE WALL, so my sweet Meme picked it up. She said "okay" and "mmhmm" a few times and then hung up the phone. Then came the dreaded words. "Kacie, Linda needs you to go help her do something." What!? Me!? Get up!? PLEASE NOOOO!!! (So I was a slightly dramatic teenager, I think I grew out of that most days.)
I drug myself out of the recliner, slower than most snails move on a bad day, and walked (or crawled and pouted, not really sure which) the 100 yards to my Aunts house.
You see, Linda had cancer. The bad kind. She wasn't supposed to live very long. At this point she had outlived herself by about 6 years. But the cancer was still there, and between the cancer itself and all of the meds her bones were very brittle and her body ached constantly.
So on this day that I made my regular trip to see what she needed help with I kind of talked myself in to being in a bad mood. I opened the sliding glass door and walked in to her kitchen with an annoyed look on my face, one I'm sure my daddy would have commented on, "I sure hope your face doesn't freeze like that", and there she was. Glowing, beaming, radiant. No, literally. She had Christmas lights thrown over her shoulders like some kind of fancy shawl.
With most adults, a sight like this could be kind of surprising. With Linda, not so much. I mean, this was the woman who once talked in a baby voice for so long she began to do it unintentionally. Anything for a laugh.
So, after a good five minutes I got her untangled from all of the little glowing bulbs and I asked what else she needed me to do, like I really believed getting her loosened from the beautiful electric death trap of Christmas was really what she called me up here for.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, that was just the beginning.
Linda really liked Christmas. Like, more than Patrick Swayze liked pelvic
thrusting in Dirty Dancing. Like, A LOT. She wanted to decorate early and in a big way, against my Uncles urging her to not decorate early...or at all. This year I guess Linda was tired of arguing with my Uncle on when she could decorate, and it was always an argument because she couldn't maneuver the stairs to the attic to get the millions of boxes down, that was his job. Well this year it became my job.
I drug box after box after box down the stairs. There were trees and lights and tinsel and ornaments and glass figurines and blah blah blah.
I remember starting to get even more annoyed when I had to go back and look for another box because one little group of ornaments was missing and Lord forbid us not put these 12 Angel ornaments on the tree because that would throw off the look of the big abominable ornament blob that sat in the corner of the living room. (There was a tree under there, I know, I drug it down the stairs and put it together. There was no proof of said tree at this point though.)
Regardless, Linda wanted them so I got them.
Three hours later the house looked like a Winter Wonderland. It was beautiful. And Linda, well she was beaming...again...this time from pure joy.
Linda has now been gone 5 1/2 years but this day, it will forever be one of my favorite days. It started a tradition. Every year after that until her last Christmas I spent my Thanksgiving break creating her own version of the North Pole.
Every year since her last Christmas was us has been hard, but I always feel her stronger during this time. Especially when I hang those 12 Angel ornaments on my tree in my home.

life lately

So, it's been a bit.
Life is crazy. So crazy. Just when you almost have things figured out you realize every day really is just a toss up. Fortunately, the constant changes have all been in my favor, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.
Since August I've started a new, fabulous job. I have amazing co-workers, bosses and employees. I have stability. I can take my kiddos to school in the mornings and pick them up in the afternoon. It's pretty much heavenly.
The kids are now 10 years (girl-L) and 8 months (boy-Z) (tomorrow). We celebrated that 10th Birthday in a big way. We've gotten our first tooth (Sept 13th it officially broke through!). We had our first Halloween together. I had the cutest little witch and fire fighter. We are crawling...errrr scooting/bouncing. We had our first, and definitely not last, meltdown with L. Homework is not our favorite thing. And just in case anyone was wondering, Common Core SUCKS! I can't even help her with her homework because I still haven't figured out what all of the dots and boxes represent. Needless to say, 23 and no kids to 24 and two is sometimes a struggle, but definitely worth it!
Oh yeah, I turned 24 since my last post! I now consider myself officially in my mid-20's. Kind of depressing, kind of cool...I guess.
I went on another cruise. This time to Grand Turk (Love!), Half Moon Cay (Love, Love!) and back to Nassau (Third time here so not really anything new but still beautiful!). It was a good time but I've definitely decided extended vacations are better spent with friends than family. I love them but I cannot deal with the gripey people that are my family (mostly aunts and uncles). Either way, I got to see new, beautiful places and I met some really cool new people! South Beach is still up there on my list of favorite places, too.
Anyways, there it is. A little bit about life recently. I'm going to get back in to the swing of things now that things are starting to calm down a bit. I'm super excited about the upcoming holidays and can't wait to share my favorite recipes, decorations, traditions, etc.!!
Loves! <3

one door closed...

That moment your life completely changes, kind of expected, kind of unexpected, is such a scary place to be. That place is exactly where I find myself right now, and strangely enough it is such a relief.
As my family and closest friends know, I have been beyond unhappy with my job for the past year and a half. I have worked for absolute tyrants who I fully believe could be the anti-Christ (kidding of course, but really though). They have put me through hell on earth and I truly believe they gained pleasure from the misery they subjected not only me, but my co-workers as well, to.
I know what you're thinking. Stupid, why did you stay so long? This organization was extremely near and dear to my heart. I volunteered for over eight years before I accepted a position to work for the organization. I felt the organization was a tie to my aunt who passed away five years ago. Because of these things, when my employment with this organization came to an end yesterday I was almost devastated. I was heartbroken, angry, confused. Then I took a step back and I thought about everything I had been through. I talked to friends that helped talk some sense in to me and here is our conclusion: God took this job away from me because I was too stubborn to walk away on my own. You see, there were several times that I sat for hours pulling up jobs on my computer and I would leave the tabs up for days thinking it was time to start looking for a new start. I would come back to my computer day after day after day and every time I did I would slowly close out the tabs until they were all gone. I convinced myself time and time again that all of the misery I was going through would be worth it in the long haul. The harassment from my bosses, I could overlook because the cause was a noble cause. I loved my job, just hated working for the people I was working for. I loved my co-workers, but hated that we were all miserable under this tyrant rule.
I 100% believe that everything happens for a reason and God only puts us in some places for a season. I feel like my season in that place was over long ago but I kept fighting it. That season of my life prepared me for whatever is coming next and I am so excited to see what that is. I'm believing for bigger and better. I'm praying for my ex-bosses, that they never experience half of the chaos, stress and extreme anxiety that they put their employees through. I'm praying for my ex-coworker and friends that are still dealing with the crazy and I'm praying for anyone, anywhere, that is going through the same kind of situation. Life is too short to be miserable, and for the first time in a long time I can honestly say I am happy!

waiting on baby

Finally got the opportunity to try out the new camera!

I have known this sweet girl since we were in 4th grade and I actually met her husband when we were put in a group together in Comp 1 our first semester in college. The are by far the sweetest couple in the entire world and I could not be more thrilled for them as they get ready to welcome their precious baby boy! Keegan Adam, you will be the most loved baby ever. You are already so very blessed! I cannot wait to meet you in just a few short weeks!

Minus One Update

Just when things were starting to look better for this sweet little puppy love of mine, we are now dealing with a another set back.

His hip, where his leg was amputated, is healing perfectly! However, his other back foot had to have a toe removed and that foot is not healing as we had hoped. The incision itself is great but now the Dr feels that he might have developed staph, and not just any staph, a strain that is flesh eating. :(

Basically, we are on an all new antibiotic regimen to see if we can save this foot. If not, then I will have a double amputee that will be forced to use a puppy dog wheelchair. 

Not loving the cone, but such a trooper!

We are hopeful and praying for the best! And receiving sweet encouragement from our little doggy friends is always a mood booster! 

and monday has rolled around again...

Going back to work after a three day weekend (that came only a week after a week long vacation to the beach) is always the worst!
Three days is just enough time to get out of my routine, which I have come to depend on tremendously while dealing with a now four month old (can you believe it!?) and a new amputee pup.
Regardless, no one asked my opinion on the matter so I will get over it and embrace this crazy Monday. Vet check up, crazy work catch up and all. It's going to be a good day!

Happy Monday After A Three Day Weekend To You!

Baby Boy's first 4th of July Celebrations!

Oh how I wish I could share all of this cuteness, but just look at those sweet lips! He's presh!

Minus One

I am officially the owner of a three legged dog.  My heart breaks for my sweetness but he was such a trooper through surgery and is spending the night at the vets office just as a precaution.

I will never understand how people,  multiple people,  could brush an injury so severe under the rug.  They had to know I would be home from vacation eventually and would find my poor baby in such an awful condition. Regardless,  what's done is done.  Now we are just focusing on recovering and building muscle in his other back leg!  Prayers for my sweet Browning are greatly appreciated,  and for his baby friend Magnus.  He's not quite sure just yet what happened to his buddy.

(Pic is obviously pre-surgery. Post-surgery pics are not so visually appealing. :/ )

over so soon...

Vacation is officially over and the work week has officially started. Pardon my French, but real life SUCKS! Not only did I come home to a job I'm not super happy with right now but I also have a sweet pup who will be having a leg amputated tomorrow after an accident he had while I was away on vacation. (That's a whole other story, and I'm beyond ticked off! Prayers appreciated!)

While all I really want to do is pout, I'm really super thankful for the opportunity to have a vacation with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. A week in the most amazing of little sleepy beach towns, the most precious "house on stilts", golf cart rides for days, crazy belly laughs, beaches, piers and girl talk were just what the doctor ordered. I cannot wait to be back there!

Ahhh...just relax!

There is absolutely nothing better than a week at the beach with the girls...even if it rains the last two days. I am so beyond blessed to have these girls in my life. Here's to our first annual summer girls trip! One more day!