The Puzzle

a little mental unraveling…

so here it goes….

I see LIFE as a giant puzzle,

and there are many little pieces to that puzzle.

Among all those pieces, there are:

HAPPY

FUN

LOOKS LIKE A PERFECT FAMILY

sort of pieces

 

and these "perfect moment" pieces are shared in photos, and in stories.

BUT....On the flip side

there are moments, even days (as with everyone else)

that the pieces to life's puzzle illustrate the "messy moments"

– an absolute disarray, turmoil, mayhem,

a wreck!!!

But it’s a beautiful wreck,

because we learn so much from those days

if we allow ourselves to!

But for the record, I’ll probably stick to blogging about what makes me happy!

Just so you know...

we have those chaotic, frustrating, and super complicated moments, sometimes days!

Real quick.

One more tidbit of frustration in our home on this "glorious day"…

so......my Bucket List

(trying to accomplish everything on it before the summer is history,

yet attempting and longing not to get uptight if we don’t fulfill everything,

or if it goes completely "NOT how I imagined!")

So my idea today....its raining, can't go outside

....lets build a fort!!!

Cross it off our Bucket List!

The boys were super excited, and we got a really cool fort built

(but everything unraveled before I got a photo!)

They started fighting about what goes inside the fort, and it just got ugly from there! We (Josh & I) both just observed them, and we both must have been thinking the same thing...

"surely one of them will give in,

and they'll stop fighting & work it out"

however,

the screaming got louder,

the punches got harder,

and one of us had to step in,

as they were both very determined. So I said it....

I had had ENOUGH!!!!

"STOP!!!! we're done!!!! the fort is coming down!"

Ohhhh my....

there were tears,

and more tears,

and yelling,

and more yelling....

you get the picture,

TOTAL CHAOS!!!

So behind our "perfect" photos and our stories,

sometimes there are ugly times,

There are hard talks, tears and all the stuff that makes a family real.

We have those times,

and we always will have those times.

Just because I don't write about them,

doesn't mean that they don't exist.
those times are real,

those times are memories too

I'll look back at all the times,

(good and not-so-good)

and appreciate both!

Family is hard work, but ever so rewarding.

And every memory,

every smiling moment,

every season,

every road trip,

every trial that ends with triumph,

every blog post is hard-earned.

But sometimes, the best things in life are hard-earned also!

This is life.

This is real life.

And there will be more chaos.

And there will be more frustration....

But there will also be

more joy.

more laughter.

more smiles.

more moments.

And there will be lots more Love.

And it is ALL worth it.

All of it.

So Bring on Life.

This is our life.

And I Love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is it too late for a summer bucket list???

clean the house, pull the weeds, sweep out the garage, clean the house, run errands, make dinner, clean the house, go to work, get groceries,

and lastly, clean the house
(blah, blah, blah...boring!!!)

the summer days are beckoning me to....

do something fun!!!

 

the summer is slipping by,
and i'm wanting to fill our time with some excitement!

i'm thinking that a last minute (very last minute) bucket list is in order!

i do believe that i will be jotting a few of the things down that have already taken place!

that would be green slime - thanks Parenting magazine!

 

complete squishy slime with turtles and lizards

 

drink from the hose

 

surf in the "kitty pool"

 

goggles in the "kitty pool"

 

make time for cousin time

 

explore the woods  (they found a frog!!!)

 

throw a potty party (sort of a success)

 

catch frogs (ain't raisin' no sissys!)

 

get the boys a pet (kittens rated #1 on easy!)

 

go tribe!! Indians game with the guys! lane took great pics for me! (wink)

 

get my camera out at least 3x a week (lovin' him some sweet cousins!)

 

i refuse to let summer slip by.... 

so here are the 50 days of

crilow summer fun:

1. go to a parade
2. lunch @ lems
3. indians game
4. hershberger truck patch
5. backyard campfire
6. fun with pop-its & sparklers
7. water balloon fun
8. make slime
9. family movie night w/popcorn
10. have cousins over at least 3x
11. sidewalk chalk art
12. family game night
13. go to a zoo
14. get a pet
15. go to the library
16. drink from the hose
17. pick blueberries
18. explore Dundee falls
19. surf & wear goggles in the "kitty pool" (haha)
20. make cookies
21. make dirt (the dessert)
22. water park
23. blow bubbles
24. catch fireflies
25. fun with stackin' cups
26. make apple frogs
27. catch frogs
28. make our house diaper free!
29. build a fort
30. ice cube treasure fun
31. make a mini sand box (and i mean mini)
32. make freezy goo
33. fun with glow sticks and balloons (at night)
34. catch fireflies
35. take pics in a wheat field (*mom*)
36. take a family pic
37. nature walk scavenger hunt (with printout)
38. play in the rain
39. bike the trail
40. bubble art
41. try out lemonberry downtown
42. make sponge balls
43. go fishing
44. decorate a dish
45. make lemonade and drink it in cool cups
46. backyard alphabet hunt
47. play at a park (a couple times!)
48. go for icecream
49. feed the fawns at neighbor house
50. and finally RELAX its summer!!!

 





 

 

What is this blog for?

My reasons have changed over the last 2 years.

Initially, it was to promote my Photography work; however, I have laid that dream aside for now (in a sense)I was trying to juggle too many things:

striving to be a Godly wife

giving my all to be a nurturing mom (a new mom at that!)

keeping my house in order (did I mention I'm an organizing freak!?)

trying to grow both my Real Estate business as a Realtor for Kaufman Realty & Auctions, and my small photography business

and living what we call "Life"

 It was WAY too much!
 

I still love photography, and I still photograph my family, and try to capture the memories that are being made!
Seeing life happen through my lens excites me!

Crayons are a necessity around here these days! I love the masterpieces he creates, and I love hearing him sing as he colors! That's the best part!

 

A milestone has been reached at the Crilow house!

I'm not sure if its a milestone for me (the "helicopter mom" side of me) or Trevan!.....eating grapes WHOLE and not cut in half!!!

(its the little things, right?)

 

And this is just a sliver of our life...

what has been going on @ the Crilow House

so far this SUMMER!

He Isn't....

Slow-Moving, Patient, Careful,

A Health Nut, nor is he afraid of T.V.

But He Is....

Charming, Active, Oh-So Loving, Passionate,

Creative, Affectionate, Hilarious,

Sweet as can be, All-Boy, and PeRfEcT!!!!

I Love my little "big boy"

he makes me Smile and Laugh Every Single Day!

He truly is a blessing to us,

and we are so thankful for him, and his unique personality!

Lane's Buddy, Liam - My camera LoVeS him!!

Those Eyes....That Hair....Such a CuTe LiL' GuY!!!

Don't you just want to hug him,

and squeeze his little cheeks?!

Senior Photos on The Farm

do not go where the path may lead.

go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.....

emerson

I love my time with Seniors!

It's a different avenue than what I'm used to,

but I find it almost....relaxing!

I don't have to....

chase after them,

make silly noises,

blow big bubbles with Bubble Gum,

or basically make myself look absolutely ridiculous!!!

For those reasons, I tend to go overboard with the number of shots I take....

But then again, I guess that's not a bad thing!!!

I love the diversity that I experience through photography....

I enjoy the older, mature subjects,

and I adore the sweet, carefree, young, and energetic subjects too!!

Two different adventures....

and I LoVe them both!!!

Stacie was Great!

She is a Beautiful girl with absolutely Fabulous hair!!

We definitely had to work with the windy weather we were having,

but she was very patient,

and we got some great shots on their home farm!

My time at her place was very enjoyable....

Thanks for giving me the opportunity

to capture this exciting phase of your life!!

Cade

Love this little man!

His SwEEt sMiLe, cHaRm & that 'oH sO CooL' LeAthEr JaCkET.....

just make the cutest combination EvEr!!

He was such a trooper on our 'morning out'....

Giving me those sweet looks that make VeRy cute photos!!

It was more of a 'play-date' in town than a 'session'

I had my 2year old in tow,

(which actually was a help...surprise surprise!!)

Lane would chant loudly,

"Cader Cader on the Gator"

And Cade would react and laugh hysterically....

not sure if he was laughing at what Lane was saying,

or if he was laughing while thinking to himself,

"What in the world is he talking about?"
Either way, it was rather humorous and It Worked!!
Us 'Moms' on the other hand probably were just adding to the hysteria,

because we were laughing & just having a great time

the whole 'play-date' through!!
Such great Friends of Ours!! - Love you guys!!

Where have I been??

I have been spending time with some great families!!!

So much LoVe surrounding these photo sessions....

I know I've said it before....

but I just love seeing families interact with each other!

And the kids....

Just LoVe them!

They make LiFe so interesting!

For this first session, I was the one making LiFe interesting!

While I was on the ground photographing this CuTe family,

I smelled something TERRIBLE!!

I commented to them,

"someone must be hauling manure somewhere close by!"

But to my surprise, I was part of the stench!!

I had my elbow in a big pile of Dog POOP!!!

And I tell you what, it was a HUGE pile!!!

DISGUSTING!!!!

And it was not only on the sleave of my elbow, but all over my jeans!!!

Yuck!!!!

Well we continued on with the session....

Dog Poop and all! :)

And we got some really great shots of Little Miss Caoilainn and her Mommy & Daddy!

The Yoder Family

This next family could handle at least 3 more kids!!

They both stayed so calm and collected through our whole time together!

They have a beautiful family and I LoVe their kids' personalities!

Meet my good friend, Dr. Spitler and her family!

Her medical diagnoses (sp?) are always 'right on'

Too bad she can't prescribe antibiotics!!

These little munchkins are just Hilarious and so Cute!

Their expressions in this photo are just great!!

Never a dull moment at the Spitler House!

The Persingers

I love how this photo says

"Classy"

but then the barefeet say

"Carefree"

Such a Sweet Family!

Oh, and these beautiful little girls!

They are just the sweetest little things!

Little Jorjia is so funny - she likes to see how far I'll go to get her to smile!

But her 'serious' look is too cute!!

The Barkman Family
Surprisingly, with this many people (and a 2 yr old) - Love you, Hudson!!

....this session was easy!

Everyone cooperated very well, and we got a bunch of different combinations!

VERY nice lookin' family!!

LoVe this photo of these adorable kids in Action!!!!