Love, God, and Many Prayers...

As promised, I am here to UPDATE you all on baby Alexander. Last Wednesday evening I wrote a post for prayer that little Alexander made it through open heart surgery. At just a week old, Alexander and his parents (my friends Andrea and Jon) experienced the power of prayer and love between family, friends, and those who they didn't even know. While it was touch and go for a while, god blessed our prayers and baby Alexander was taken off the ventilator and removed from ICU today at 1:30 (west coast time). Below are pictures taken from Andreas family and while I look at them I am amazed at how such a little angel has remained so strong through this time. God is amazing and no one can tell me that his grace isn't a powerful presence. Thank you all for your love and prayers.

After surgery Thursday May 29, 2009





Today Tuesday June 2, 2009

Please Pray...

One of my very good friends Andrea and her husband Jon had a little boy who was born on May 18th with a severe heart condition. Tomorrow her precious little one is going in for open heart surgery. If you would please take the time tonight and tomorrow to pray for her son and family during his surgery (7a.m. May 28th); I would be forever grateful.

Below is an email that was sent out by Andrea with specific prayer requests. I will keep you all posted tomorrow on how little baby Alexander is doing. Thank you all for your prayers...


Dear Friends,

As most of you know, our baby Alexander Daniel was born last Monday, May 18. He was 81bs 13oz, 21 inches and is such a beautiful boy with lots of thick black hair.
Alexander has a congenital heart defect called "Transposition of the Great Vessels" which requires open heart surgery. His surgery is tomorrow morning at 7:00 am at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. His surgeon is Dr. Vaughn Starnes.

As you can imagine, we are so anxious about the surgery and recovery. It is an extremely delicate procedure. We would really appreciate if you all could pray for Alexander tomorrow morning.

Specifically:
1. That he would have to spend minimal time on the heart and lung bypass machine
2 That the switching of his arteries goes smoothly and with no complications
3. That the transplanting of his Coronary arteries will be problem free and that Dr. Starnes is able to attach them with no kinks or stretching and that they would lay as naturally as possible.
4. That Alexander's body will heal quickly after the surgery and that he will be able to come off the ventilator within a few days.
5. That Dr. Starnes will be well rested and that God will give him wisdom and creativity to address any problems that arise during surgery.

Thank you so much, friends. We are so grateful for all of your phone calls, emails, offers to bring us meals, watch Jacob etc. You have been so generous to us and we feel so supported and loved.

Thanks again for praying. Our precious baby is in God's hands.

Love,
Jon and Andrea

When the rain breaks = Beautiful in Washington

OHHHHHHHHHHH Man today was a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest. To me, it felt like the first day of summer and well we certainly played like it was. Austin and I had a great day playing in the sun at the downtown fountain, park, and boardwalk. We played so hard that Austin passed out in the car even before starting the car. He had sooooooooo much fun watching all the children play in the water. He got right in there with everyone else and had a blast!!

For anyone who knows my son,they know what these arms represent...HERO! This is a fun game we play with Austin and he had a blast flying through the fountain like a hero!



He never even hesitated running through the water...





Oh YEAH Austin's cool!



Playing at the park, climbing and being silly!





And we're DONE...

Our time has come to an end...

I am crushed, empty, and saddened to write this post, but reality has come to where we have to say goodbye. Yesterday, I said goodbye to the love of my life for another six (or so) months as he heads back to Afghanistan to complete his mission. It took everything in me yesterday not to cry, but that quickly shattered as I held him tightly knowing that I would not embrace his hug again for what seems like eternity. It was even harder to see him say goodbye to our son who he loves more then anything in this world. I have very rarely seen my husband cry, but I visibly saw his heart ache as we drove away for the airport. It was a very emotional day, but I am thankful that we are now on the downhill slide of this journey. It's been extremely hard to be apart, but we know that god has a plan for us and we will praise him for his glory in our lives.

Love is a very powerful word, and I know it's not enough to explain the bond I have with my husband and son. My husband is my soul mate, my best friend, and love for life. Even though it's hard to be without him, I am very honored to call him my husband. He is fighting for a cause, and passion for his country. He believes in the foundation of freedom and security. He is one that I admire for his strength and desire to make a change. He truly is my hero!

Joel, even though we are not together today or in the days to come, I want you to know that I think of you always. I dream of you while I sleep and when I wake I smile at the thought of your love you have for your family. I am extremely thankful to have you as my husband, friend, and father to our son. We are very proud of you and can't wait to see you come home for good. Until then, know that we are here remaining strong and with open arms. We will see you soon my love. I miss you already!

To our family and friends....Thank you for loving and supporting us through this hard time. Your grace has allowed us to call home in both Kentucky and Washington. Your support whether large or small means the world to us and we are forever thankful for to you.

With love,
Stephanie

I Heart Faces Week 18...Laughter!

I promise I am still alive...it' been awhile, but I am SUPER excited for this weeks theme of laughter. I shot this picture of my son this weekend while we were out celebrating mother's day before my husband left to go back to go Afghanistan. We were having SOOOOOOOOO much fun and I just fell in love with this picture...Hope you enjoy this photo and all the other amazing pictures back at www.iheartfaces.com

Great families and friends...

The best thing in life is great family and friends! I love that I have been surrounded by wonderful people. I find at times people take for granted the people that fill their lives, but for me, I take every moment I can with those I love. Yesterday, I had a the opportunity to shoot two of my best girl friends and their families. It was great to capture the love these families had between one another...hope you enjoy!

Our trip to the Zoo....Amazing!

Our time is coming to an end and while emotions are gaining quickly, I had a moment to soak in the zoo with my boys. Austin, Joel, and I packed up for Nashville the other day to spend a couple of days together as a family. While in Nashville, we were able to enjoy the local zoo as a family. It was so wonderful to see Austin so excited about the zoo. I took him last year and well of course he was too little to understand or realize that there were actually animals to see and experience. This time was more then just experiencing the animals, it was experiencing the animals with daddy. The two of them ran around the zoo like children on Christmas eve...around every corner was a new adventure or animal to see. The park was beautiful and of course I took the opportunity to take a thousand or more pictures of my guys together. It feels so wonderful to be filled again as a complete family and as I know the time is coming to end, I am hoping that the days go by slowly. Joel is heading back to Afghanistan on Sunday as Austin and I are back to Washington. It's seems like the time has gone by too quickly (as it always does), but I know we're almost through and in six months time we'll be together again as a family for good. Please keep us in your prayers...we'll definitely need it in the coming days. As for now, please enjoy our pictures at the zoo together. We had SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!


As always, I have taken too many pictures to share in one post, so I have found a solution...I am posting my favorite pictures and the rest are in a slide show below...Enjoy:)))

More time spent as a fmaily in Kentucky...

The time spent here in Kentucky has been wonderful! Joel and I have soaked up every moment so far with Austin. We've taken him to the park, fun plaza, and to his great Aunts house to see the horses. We're even planning a trip to the zoo next week in Nashville (stay tuned for pictures)...so much fun! I promise when I have more time I will write more about our time together and how it's been to be a family again, but for now picture will have to do until I have the time to sit down and write...hope you enjoy!!

Joel and I took Austin out to his aunts house to see the horses. He was a little hesitant at first, but quickly warmed up with daddy by his side...





Here is where Austin realized that the horses actually moved...he reacted very quickly to the horse moving into his personal space...lol!





After daddy took Austin up on his shoulder and by the hand Austin was all about visiting with the horses...So cute!





Austin even got to go outside and ride the lawn mower with his daddy...he had a blast until he threw a fit when he had to come back in...







Here is where Austin had to come in...he watched daddy the whole time from the window:)



Well I suppose that's it for now, sorry for the lengthy post...I couldn't just pick one:)))

Sharing our time with pictures...

Do I need to explain this picture! Nothing like a bond between father and son:) PRICELESS!


Well as you may know my hubby is home for three weeks of R&R (rest and relaxation). I can't really put into words what our time thus far has been like, but I can say that it feels like home sweet home. Being together again feels amazing and every time I see Austin and Joel together it takes my breath away! It's late here, but I wanted to share our time together in pictures
(so far). I'll keep you all posted real soon...Hope you enjoy!

We've played outside and made memories with the simple things in life...bubbles!







Awwww late nights talking around the bon fire and roasting marshmallows...great times!



Daddy has found out what it's like to have a child attached to his hip...he won't let daddy leave his sight...so sweet! (Can you see him, he's behind the plant)



We've even had a date night



Can you tell from the look on my face how happy I am to be whole again!!

MORE TO COME...

We're in Kentucky...

Well as you may have noticed, I have been MIA for the last two weeks and I promise it’s been for good reasons…we’re in Kentucky!

Austin and I flew out two weeks ago to spend the Easter holiday with Joel’s family and well, we’re still here for good reasons...Joel came HOME!! At the last minute Joel worked out to come home for three weeks of R&R which I will have to say has been a breath of fresh air. It’s been kind of crazy here lately with the stress of health issues, long distance relationships, and being a single parent to Austin.
While I have been in Kentucky, I have been able to relax and unwind from the daily routines of what I would now call my “normal crazy life.” I have also been able to spend some great time with friends, family, and now my hubby for an additional three weeks. We picked Joel up on Monday from the airport and brought him home to surprise his mother who had NO clue he was coming in. It was a great surprise for Joel’s mom who has been missing him as much as I have. I cannot describe the look on her faces, but I will say emotions ran wild and a great BIG smile arose from her face…she was delighted!

Since then, we’ve been catching up on being a family and learning how to work together as parents. I don’t think as parents we realize how hard it is to raise a child especially on our own. I have said this many times, but I now have a new found appreciation for single parents. I have no clue how you all do it! Yesterday, Joel had his first experience with being a dad (by himself). He did a great job but was on pins and needles the whole time. He had no clue what Austin’s schedule was, what he ate, or how he functioned throughout the day. As I told him when he asked for the manual before I left, “They don’t come with directions honey, you have to go with the flow. “ Even though Joel may have had a hard time adjusting, he is a wonderful father and husband. We are ecstatic that he his home to visit and will soak up every moment of it. I’ll keep you all posted here soon…Take care:)

Oh yes and we must have one for the easter spirit...

HEHEHEHE...I had this wonderful idea of making Ashton into an Easter basket and oh how well it worked...Love this little guy:)

My love for classic black and white...

Precious, classic, and forever black and white is what I love about photos that capture the expressions of little ones. You can almost always take an average photo and make it simply classic with black and white.

Just my two cents!

I love taking pictures of baby Ashton...he's growing like a weed and well like any mommy it's so nice to capture their different stages. Hope you like!

What a beatiful day...

Today truly felt like the first day of spring here in Washington State. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and everyone in town was out and about. It was a beautiful sight to be out today driving around and enjoying the weather. Austin and I decided to take full advantage of today (because everyone here in Washington knows that sunshine is too and far between). We took a trip to the waterfront and ran along the beach. Austin had a blast picking up shells, playing in the sand/mud, and running to the water. I didn't realize how fast he was until I tried taking pictures of him by the water...not an easy thing to do. Anyhow, today was a beautiful day and I hope we have many more beautiful days to come!!



Here is Austin in a straight SPRINT towards the water...

April FOOLS...

OK so normally I prank my husband on this day (April 1st), but because he's currently not here, I've come up with a funny video where the prank is on someone else...LOL! Be prepared to die laughing...Happy April Fools Day:)

Even though this video says "Toliet Prank" it's completely clean...no worries!



Make sure to pause the music below before watching this video!