Invisible

One of my wonderful client friends sent this to me, and it made my day. So, I thought I would pass it on to my other wonderful mom friends. Thanks girl!


I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30 , please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going ... she's going... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."

And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Cup of Brooklynne

I think my neighbors think I am weird. And they are probably right. But how often do you see something this cute in your neighbor's front yard??? Didn't think so. Drive on by at random times, you never know what I'll be doing next. lol I often wonder if the neighbors I don't know well wonder what is going on over here. New people in and out all the time with stacks of clothing. hehe It must be a funny site. One neighbor said he often wonders how long some are planning to stay. :o) So, tomorrow I am a day older. bah, But I'm going shopping and getting loads of yummy food....and it won't count against my "lose all this baby weight so you can look like a normal but perfect girl and wear really cute clothes" plan cause your body disposes of all the fat on your birthday. Yeah. And Friday's. Fat Free Fridays. You learn something new everyday on my blog, don't ya??? Have a great one!!!

Weddings!!!

I wanted to share a couple of quick images from a wedding we did. We did this wedding about a week before I came off leave, it was soooo much fun! We had a lot working against us, but the wedding turned out so beautifully! I am thankful to this wonderful couple for letting us share in their special day! I just wanted to share a few:











And we are very excited to announce that we will be adding wedding packages to our variety of services. I have always steered clear of them, and to be honest I will be choosy with weddings. I want to make sure I am a good match for each couple. This match was perfect and enjoyable, so it was that little push we needed to open the door to another project. As if we need more projects. ha We will start doing weddings in '08 so tell your friends....the ones who are getting married of course.


Ok, so on another note, this is going to be my adult ADD information coming out of my ears update. A couple of things:


1. We are really trying to expand our outdoor/on-location portfolio. While we have done tons, we have not asked permission to use them. So, we are looking for a few models! We want to take some kiddos downtown, to parks, old buildings, etc. It will be loads of fun and be amazing images! I am getting ready to do this with my own little crew so I will have samples soon. If you would like to sign your child up to be a model, please email me and I will give you the details.


2. We are also looking for a couple of Senior Reps in the area. High School Seniors will receive a discount and get to be in our portfolio! Contact me for details.


3. You will now also have the option to have a preview of your session on the blog! After your session, the wait can be INTENSE. So, you will now have the lovely option of having a sneak peek image to get you through the agonizing wait. I know. It's golden. And I am a smart cookie.


4. My birthday is on Thursday. And I am getting older by the minute people. And I think I need something shiny for my birthday. And I don't mean foil.

5. I need chocolate, so I have to go now. Don't tell anyone though. I feel like if I have chocolate while no one is around it doesn't count as breaking my diet. Works well I think.

Lots of love people!

Looks like we have a plan!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the poll! It will remain open until September 1st, so feel free to add your thoughts!
So, it looks like we will have a site that allows you to view your session as well as place your order and pay right then and there. I am working on getting it in place and hope to have it up and running by September 1. There will also be the option for a viewing session at the studio. When you come for your session, you will be asked what your preference is and we will either set up a viewing session or an online viewing.
In addition to this exciting change, there will be a couple of minor changes to ordering. Once your proofs are online, you will now have 5 days to view and choose your portraits. Things are much busier around here, and with the holiday season sneaking up on us I need to make sure everything is smooth. This policy will change as of September 1st as well. If you have already scheduled a session, you will be honored the current viewing time. We also have some awesome new business cards on their way, and are working on new brochures and other products! It is all very exciting. We have grown by leaps and bounds and we want to make sure the experience is as exciting and memorable as the portraits! Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!!

Silly me...

I forgot to post the special for September...

Complimentary 8x10 with $100 purchase and paid session! Plus you add on the fact that you get to hang out with me for about an hour and that my friends, is priceless!

Almost forgot...

I have had many requests for availability in September already. I will be back to 3 sessions per weekend. And it is filling up quick, so here is what's left for September's schedule:

September 1 - BOOKED!
September 8 - 2 slots left
September 15 - BOOKED!
September 22 - 2 slots left
September 30 - 1 slot left

Take the Poll!

Ok, so here's the skinny. I have been looking for a better way of proofing, or a better proofing site for some time. Well, my current proofing site is shutting down and forcing me to get in gear and make a decision. So, I've posted a poll (to the left). I don't want to make a decision that is good for me, but totally inconvenient for the client. So, please take the poll! I'll cry if you don't. I am going to explain the choices....

Viewing Appointment: You would come back to my home to view your portraits, which would be presented in a slideshow. We would then sit down together and go through them each to see what you would like to order and can even help you design a set up for a display wall in your home. You would have to be prepared to place your order at the time of your Viewing Appointment, but family and friends would still have an opportunity to order. After our appointment the session would go live online for 5 days, allowing any additional orders to be placed. I would love to be able to do this, and meet with each of my clients. But I know this may not be the best option for those who are an hour or more away.

Online Viewing and Ordering: Basically exactly what we have been doing now, but you would have the ability to order the prints right there on the site rather than having to email me.

Online Slideshow: This would be a slideshow for you to view, along with being able to see each portrait. You would still have to email me your order.

So, those are the choices. I am also very open to any other ideas, if you have them. But I really want to make sure I am keeping everything as convenient or better than it is now. Thanks friends!!!

I'm BAAAAACK!

Well, ladies and gents this weekend I am back in action and Bella Amadis Photography is reopening after my almost 3 month leave. I am so excited. I have a bunch of new clients coming out this month that I am so excited to meet and work with. And of course, my awesome regulars who I am just so thrilled to see. :o) I am going to sit down and work on my Fall schedule and get that out soon. I have had a ton of inquiries on when I will start booking for Christmas sessions, and since there are already people asking it will likely be soon that I start scheduling them. The actual sessions will likely start next month. Which is crazy to already be thinking of Christmas, but last year we started mid September and were booked in no time for the rest of the year and we unfortunately had to turn people away. So, this year I am on top of the game! Ok, I gotta run before the little peeps cause some trouble. Here are some pictures from yesterday of my little sweet munchkins....

WAIT...

I forgot I hadn't posted these. Granted they're from like 4 weeks ago. But still, it's super cute. And I'll get working on a new one!

I know, I know

Ok, so I know I need to post more pictures of Miss Priss. So, you can stop tapping your tired little fingers Megan. LOL To be honest....I haven't taken any recently. *GASP* I know, shocking. I've been SO busy for a whole lot of doing nothing. Amazing how time flies when you have 3 kids around. Plus I did a wedding last Monday, so will be buried under editing for a while. Someone's gonna have to come and feed and bathe my kids. Oh, hehe kidding. :) The wedding went really well, despite the weather not cooperating. It was SUCH a beautiful wedding, and I was so thankful to be there to capture it for such a wonderful couple.
I will work on getting a couple of the Little Princess posted, she is due for her 2 month portraits! I can't believe she's already 2 months. And this coming weekend, I am officially back to work! I am so excited!!! It's been a fun time off, but I am just excited to get the creative juices flowing again. I have some fun things planned for the fall, so stay tuned! In the meantime, if you want a session in August - you better jump on it! Just 1 left!!!

WOW!

On Tuesday I sent out the email about coming back, and the responses were incredible! Thank you all. :) I'm glad you all still like me. hehe There are just 2 sessions left right now, so if you want one snag it up before they all disappear. And because I have had a couple of people ask about reordering and buying rights I have set up an amazing special for this month only!!!

JULY ONLY!

Purchase your entire session (prior sessions only, cannot be used for upcoming session) with full printing rights for only $350!!! That's a savings of $150!!!

Think about how awesome that will be come Christmas time when you are thinking of presents. :) If you'd like to purchase your session please shoot me an email. That's about all for now. Hope you all have a great week and weekend! Over and out.

Now Booking!!!

It's amazing how time flies with a newborn. I'm even more amazed that time actually is flying even though we have been stuck in the house most of the summer. Can I just say I am TOTALLY over this weather. My husband told me last night I am too pale. Um hellooooo, when is a girl supposed to catch a ray in this weather??? Anyways, I have already started booking for August. I have contacted all of my waiting list clients and they have all chosen their sessions so I can now release the few sessions left. FYI, there are not many left and they will fill quickly since I have not been taking sessions since April. It's going to be busy around here pretty much through the end of the year now. August is playing catch up on summer sessions and mid September is the beginning of the holiday rush for photographers! So here's the skinny for August:

August Special: 2 complimentary 5x7's with $100 purchase and paid session!

August 4th: 12pm

August 11th: 10am, 12pm

August 18th: 12pm

August 25th: Booked

I can't believe how quickly what I had filled up, and I am so excited to come back. I seriously have the best job in the world! Oh, and on a side note...I realized this week that my phone ate a few messages. I know there are a couple of people that are waiting for me to call them back to schedule a session. I am so sorry I haven't! I didn't forget about you I promise, I just don't have your info to call you back anymore!!! ACK! So, if you are still waiting on my call please either call me or email me. I feel like such a dork, I am not always a dork - only when I have a newborn. Makes my brain slightly mushy. Have a safe and wonderful 4th everyone!!!

4 weeks!

Wow, how time flies. I forget how quickly they grow up, but have been quickly reminded by Brooklynne. She hit 4 weeks yesterday. It's crazy I tell you! Anyways, things are going wonderful. I have just been enjoying her and the boys. :) Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

Gotta love the slightly cross eyed look. Poor little booger. We're gonna have to work on that. ;) Oh AND can someone tell me where the blue/gray eyes came from??? Everyone here started and ended with brown. Gosh, I love this kid!

Finally more of Miss Brooklynne Grace!

Things have been busy of course, but it is such a wonderful busy. :) Brooklynne is 8 days old now, and doing FANTASTIC! The boys adore her, daddy is wrapped around her sweet little finger. And life just couldn't be better. We are so blessed. And yes, for those who have asked....this is it for us!!! ;) Anyways, thank you so so much for all of the emails of well wishes! They are so appreciated. I have read every single one of them, now I just need to find an extra minute to respond. But I haven't forgotten! So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now, enough blabber...I know why you're really here. I have gotten a ton of emails asking for more pictures. So here she is! My sweet baby girl. :)

Just one for now, taken by her daddy at the hospital. :) She is having her first of millions of photo sessions today. More to come very soon I promise. :) Thank you to everyone for all of the kind support and meals. We are so blessed.

Guess who came to visit?!

She's here!!! I am going to be in so much trouble since I don't have pictures to post yet....well, I do have pictures (of course) just not my card reader to upload them to the computer. :) She came Monday at 1:46AM, and is amazing and beautiful and perfect. 7lbs 2oz, 20.5 inches and every bit of beautiful a girl should be. I will be back later to post pictures of her and at some point to share the chaos of my delivery. It was interesting. :) Hope you are all doing well!

Induction date

We had our 36 week (actually 36weeks 5 days but who's counting???) appointment and sono today. :) Everything went very well. We knew we would be talking about induction, and it would be based on the baby's size. She measured perfectly, estimated to be about 6lbs. 4oz.! Which is a great size, and luckily smaller than Mason was at that stage. We didn't want to have a larger baby than Mason so that we could make sure I could deliver her on my own. Mason was 8lbs 4oz 2 weeks early!!! So, she is a great size which is excellent news. She was so precious on the sono you could see her pouting her little lips, and sticking out her tongue. It was beautiful. So, since she isn't too big we will be induced at 39 weeks if we make it. My scheduled induction is June 4th! That's a maximum of 18 more days left!!! We are so excited. A week ago if you asked us, we would have been hoping for a sooner induction. But this is it for us, and we want to enjoy every last minute. And we have come this far, 18 more days is nothing! But there is still the possibility, especially since I have had so many problems, that she could still come sooner. I was 1-2 cm dilated, and he said really ready for delivery. I'll keep you all posted!!!

Nothing fun to report today, but I thought this was funny...
http://info.org.il/irrelevant/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf

I go to the dr tomorrow and we will have a sono and set an induction date if she doesn't come on her own sooner. SO, tomorrow I will have news. :) Hope you are all having a great day!

What a weekend!!!

First, I hope you all had a fantastic Mother's Day! Being a mom is truly my biggest and best accomplishment, so it was good to be with my family and enjoy my boys this weekend. But it was quite a chaotic weekend. So, since it was so eventful I thought I would fill everyone in. And before you wonder, no baby yet....but she did cause some drama. :) So, now that I am off "house arrest" I am feeling a little more free, but then there is the on going problem of non-stop contractions which really restrict what I do with my new found free time. But I was bound and determined to get out and about for the first time in over 3 weeks. My sister in law came in town, so we went and did a little shopping. I of course was tired in no time, but it was nice to get out and about. So after a few hours of being out of the house, we decided it was time to head home so she could get herself back home and so I could rest. We came home, and of course the contractions started. After over an hour of contractions every 2-3 minutes apart I decided maybe I should call the dr office since I have quick babies just to see what they wanted to do. They had me take one of my pain meds I was prescribed to see if that would relax me enough to slow things down. After another hour we decided it was time to go in. I spent several hours in the hospital on Saturday night being monitored. They gave me plenty of fluids just in case and also a sedative to try to slow my body down. They can't give me the meds that will stop labor but since she would still be 4 weeks early they were going to aggressively try to at least stop me from dilating. And they did. :) After several hours I hadn't changed, but unfortunately the contractions just wouldn't let up. So, I was sent home on the sedative and a couple ambien to knock me out. And they did, after I made my poor husband cook me pancakes at 1am and had some interesting hallucinations. I don't do well with medication. It just does funky things to my body. Yesterday I spent majority of my day in bed, in pain and completely pooped from the nights events. My darling husband brought me breakfast in bed and roses and had wonderful gifts for me from the boys. And a card from each of the children, including Brooklynne. :) Have I mentioned I am the luckiest girl alive??? He makes it all ok, and takes such amazing care of us during all of this mess. But I am so ready to have this little one. The great news is, if I haven't had her on my own I will be induced at 39 weeks which is just under 3 weeks away. So, at the very longest I have to endure the nonsense of my silly body is 3 weeks....and that is exciting! Ok, so on to part 2 of my interesting weekend. We had made reservations during in the week to eat dinner early Sunday evening at Buca di Bepo. Yum. I had been so excited all week, I love Buca. And as exhausted as I was I am trying to live as normally as possible for the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy so I was not going to skip a yummy dinner and time with my family. It was the whole family, me and my crew, my parents, brother and sisters, etc. So, we get to Buca and start enjoying our evening. My poor children have been through the ringer over the past few weeks, they after all have been on house arrest along with me. It's been rough. And bless my mom for helping us out and taking them to the park or just outside when she has taken care of them. They were used to me doing those things with them, and now it's been so boring around here for them when all I can do is just sit and watch them. So, we are sitting down and my sister got there a bit late with my nephew. My older son and her son had to of course sit next to each other so they could talk about things a 4 and 6 year old talk about. Mason, my youngest needed to be part of that action. Well, things didn't go exactly as Mason had planned so he got upset. Mind you, his whole routine had been thrown off from the weekend. Saturday he didn't get in a good nap, just a small one in the car then Saturday night when we were in the hospital he didn't fall asleep for my mom till midnight. So, he was tired and cranky, not to mention just getting over an ear infection and strep earlier in the week. He was just off, and who is to blame him...he's a 2 year old with so much of his little world changing. And probably it would have been easier for us to have something at someone's house, but we certainly didn't know our weekend would end up so crazy. Anyways, so now that we all know why he was in a mood (hehe with the most important factor being that he is 2!!!!) back to the story. So, Mason gets upset and didn't want to sit down, he wanted to play. Our food comes out and my husband tries to get him to sit down and eat some noodles. Nope, he wasn't having it. He was crying and just upset, not like he was throwing a fit...he was genuinely upset. So, my husband was going to take him outside but my mom beat him to it. I am feeling major emotional and upset at that moment and ask my husband to go take care of him so my mom can sit down on mother's day. So off he goes, just then my older sister storms out as well, and I had NOOO clue why. I burst into tears feeling overwhelmed and wishing things had gone differently. My mom comes back in and says why don't we just leave our time is already ruined, which left me freaking out thinking no it's gonna be ok, Mason will calm down. Then she says "what table is it that said something?" I was so confused at this point and asked what she was talking about. Well.......what I hadn't heard in the process of getting Mason out of the restaurant is someone at another table across the room yell "You need to get your crying kid out of here". So, as soon as I hear about this I am just crushed. Are you freaking kidding me??? My child was CRYING. Not as if he was having a hissy fit, he was crying. And we swooped him out of there within 2 minutes of it starting to get him happy. And you are yelling across the room for me to remove my "kid"???? I was so upset, it really just hurt my heart. Never have I had someone insult me in regards to my children, and there was no greater pain at that moment. I was just devastated. What kind of insensitive human being would say something like that? Have they no compassion or even understanding of children in general, much less a child that has been put through many rough changes lately he DIDN'T ask for??? So, I was just majorly upset at that point as was my whole family at the rudeness of these people. So, we ask for boxes and the check (without any of us even having the chance to eat) and get everything packed up to leave. I have always enjoyed Buca di Bepo and had amazing service there, and last night was no exception. They certainly were not at fault for the actions of another patron, but they were so compassionate to the way we had been treated by those other patrons they did not let us pay. They apologized for SOMEONE ELSE'S actions, and wished us a wonderful Mother's Day. I learned of this after we left, and will be writing them a letter with the utmost gratitude. They didn't need to do that, our encounter with their staff and restaurant was great...it was someone else's actions that hurt but they did what they could. So, as we were leaving I just couldn't bite my tongue. I walked over to the table and said, "Hi, I'm the mom of the child you suggested should go home" when the man interrupts me with just the rudest look, voice, everything and starts attacking me with his words. He said to me that he didn't say we needed to leave, but we needed to get our kid under control. I told him to stop and told him he is 2 and tired and having a bad day, and gave him more of an explanation about my poor child's circumstances than he deserved to know. Because you know what, even IF we didn't have all this going on, is it completely unheard of for a 2 year old to have a bad day? He was just so mean, and snooty. And hurtful. I cried the whole way home, then decided he would not ruin MY day with my family. Everyone came over here, I dried my face and we started fresh and had a good time. I learned that you just never know what people are going through. You just never know what someone's circumstances are, nor do they matter. I try to live everyday treating everyone as I would want to be treated, and yesterday was a good reminder why that is so important. A group of people hurt my heart, and made me sad. They broke my spirit and made things worse, but only for a minute. Gosh, I so wish I could have said so many other things to them. But why? Instead I will pray for them. Clearly they do not know the love and compassion I know from my Father who helps me to see the world differently and love a little more or maybe just like Mason, they were having a bad day. I don't know their circumstances either, and so I will just pray.

I got it!

So, today I got my custom made diaper bag from Sassy Satchels and have to say I am in LOOOOOVE. My bag is fantastic, way cuter than what I had envisioned in my head. I knew it would be cute for sure, but seeing it in person is so much cooler! I just took a couple really quick snaps with Mason hanging on my leg, so they aren't the best. I am going to take it in the studio to take a couple to show all the details. It's awesome, and was so much fun to go through the design process! Ok, I sound like an infomercial. Sorry, but I am such a bag kind of girl this is so up my alley. :) Have a fantastic weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day!!! I will be eating yummy food and enjoying my new freedom and waiting for a baby to come!