Where Are the Department Store Portrait Studios?

This is a photo from my last session. My client informed me that she had been going over an hour away to get her daughters photos done because the department stores who used to have portrait studios do not have them anymore in our area. She liked that she could save money on her photos at these convenient studios. 

 Well, for anyone else who misses those department store studios, I can help you out. I offer a package that includes 5 poses saved to a CD for only $69. I wish I could offer $8.99 like the others did, but I can't. I do offer 4 more poses than they did and the ability to make as many prints and sizes needed of each pose. Those department store studios did not offer that!! ;)

www.prescottfamilyphotography.com 

remembrancephoto11@yahoo.com

Letting Go!!!!

I don't usually do this but I am going to share something I wrote after God woke me up and wouldn't let me go back to sleep until I wrote it. He is a bit persistent sometimes. Lol
I wrote a blog post not too long ago about the empty nest or preparing for it. He woke me up with something that I was going through related to this topic. This is what I wrote:

We all experience loss at some point in our lives....loss of a loved one; loss of jobs; loss of health. Those are pretty obvious losses. And then there is the losses that are not so obvious.
Those life changes that involve loss but we don't even realize we have lost something. Things like moving to a new home or town, graduating high school, or having your first child. You are excited and happy because you are gaining something but deep down there is a sense of loss that we often cannot pinpoint. We often call these times bitter/sweet.

        (Sesame Street)

                                                                                                              (happy face clipart)



What am I getting to? I am on the verge of having 2 adult children. When my kids were very young, I thought if  we made it through this (which had to be the hardest part) and we raised them right, they would make most of the right decisions and go on to be successful adults and I could retire from parenthood happy and rich in memories of a job well done. It was that easy!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               



It turns out it is not that cut and dried! It does not get easier the older they get. It gets more complicated!
Right now, I am at a crossroads. I can continue to be mommy, but risk hindering what they need to learn for themselves or I can step back and let God teach them through life what they didn't learn from us. Sounds like an easy decision to me, but it isn't. Stepping back means giving them back to God to be the parent. But I am the mommy! I have held this position for over 20 years. It feels as if someone is saying "We're sorry, Maam, or should I say Mom, your services are no longer needed." What?! I have put so much time and energy in this project, and now you are telling me I am no longer needed? (Or at least it feels that way!) This is the loss I was talking about that I didn't realize I was going through. I thought I was gaining freedom, which I am, so why does it hurt so much?





My kids don't need me as much. I need to step away and let God take over and I think it is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I want to go back to the simple times where I taught and they learned and if they did wrong there was a consequence. If they fell, I kissed them and picked them back up. Oh they will still need me from time to time but not in the same way. I am grieving this loss, and just as in any other loss, there is a grieving process that I have to let run its course. I  will not learn what the heavenly Father has for me to learn if I don't.

So, I reluctantly gather my belongings and place them in a box and leave my office. I know I will be called
upon if and when I am needed again. I know, so dramatic, isn't it. Lol. Well, hey, it was the middle of the night.
                                                                                               (Bethel gospel radio)
To sum this up, we lose and gain in this life all the time and God has a gift in each and every loss and gain we go through. We need to take the time with Him to see what that gift is. Believe me, it is priceless! I am still in the middle of this process and He is right there walking me through it all. Teen and adult children are hard! We aren't meant to do this alone. The Lord created them and put them in your care for a reason. But at a certain age, He takes them back to continue what we have begun. I trust that He knows how to parent much better than me, so Lord, they are all yours!                                                                                                                                        

Got the Shot!!!!

I went outside last night for a few minutes and saw this great photo op. I ran back in the house and grabbed my camera! I got it! I got the shot!!!

4th of July 2016

We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July with some great friends. The guys played some basketball and us women sat and chatted or took a walk. The weather was beautiful. The kids had fun with their friends! It was a perfect day! I took some photos of the beautiful fireworks. Here's to perfect Summer days!!!!

Creating a Legacy: Family Fun!!!!!

We all have those family times in our childhood that we remember fondly. Those family vacations or events that are in our hearts forever. These times are part of what makes us who we are and what we love to do by ourselves or in families of our own. Some of mine were camping trips, church outings, and family or friends we spent time with.

There were things I knew I wanted to do when I grew up and had my own family. I am so big on traditions and making memories. My kids will probably have more memories than their brains can store. Lol! But I guess that isn't such a bad thing. In this blog post, I would like to share some of the things my family does to keep us close and create a legacy for our kids.

I have a larger family than the typical American family, so we always have a budget. When the kids were younger we had what we called a Family Fun Bag! This bag contained little slips of paper with all sorts of different family activities on them. We tried to keep them very low budget. Such as making rootbeer floats or ice creams sundaes, have a movie theater night, or play games.

Saturday was our designated family day. We would start with a family discussion time. We would discuss all sorts of different topics that pertain to our family, such as, treating your siblings with respect or where should we spend our next family vacation. We followed these discussions with whatever was chosen out of the family fun bag. It gets harder to keep up with as the kids get older and are off in different directions, but it was valuable to our family!
If you would like me to give you more family fun ideas, please message me and I will send you a list to make your own bag. The internet is also a great resource for ideas.

As I said earlier, one of my fond memories as a kid was camping. I carried this on into my own family. We used to camp almost every weekend. Camping can be inexpensive, but can get expensive very quickly, so again we had our budget. We have had campers and we have had tents. The only type of camping I haven't done is sleeping right under the stars. Not my thing! hehe Unfortunately, as each one of our kids got to be

about 15 or 16, camping was no longer family fun. It turned into whining and pouting and "do I really have to go?" So, we invested in a timeshare. I know....timeshares have gotten such a bad rap. Well, I am here to say that it has been a huge blessing to our family. We can go on family getaways and the kids really enjoy it and we don't hear anymore whining or pouting until its time to go home. The condos have kitchens, so I plan a menu and we save money by not eating out everyday. We go to places that are within driving distance to save on airfare. Airfare x 6 = no money left in the bank!  Timeshares are not something to just jump into without doing some homework but I do think it is worth looking into. Again, if you would like more info about them, please message me. 

We like to go hiking, take a day trip to a nearby town or have a picnic in the park. We pretend we are camping at home by spending the day outside playing games and roasting hotdogs over a fire. 


No matter what your budget or family size, making memories is not only possible, but in my mind a necessity.
You are leaving a legacy for your children whether you intend to or not, so why not make it one that lasts a lifetime and can be passed on and on. This is priceless!!!!


In my next blog post, I will talk about the many traditions in our family. I don't mean just holidays, I mean traditions we keep. Some are weekly, some are monthly, some are yearly. Until, then, keep making those family memories!!!

Preparing for the Empty Nest

Today's topic is preparing for the empty nest. My nest will not be empty for at least another 6 years, but I see signs of it on the horizon. We have kids ranging in age from 20 down to 12.  


















Our 20 year old, Ashley, just graduated with her associates in Equine Practition. Now she is looking for a job.
Our 17 year old son, Brendan, just got his first job. How he is going to tackle working as well as being a Senior in high school, once school begins again, I don't know. I guess we will see when the time comes. Our 14 year old daughter, Hailey, just graduated 8th grade and is moving on to high school next year and our 12 year old caboose, Adam, is going into his second year of middle school. I can't believe how they have grown1





Family trips have changed as well. Ashley has stayed home to work while the rest of us are enjoying a vacation.  This one is hard. Part of what I love about family vacations is watching the kids have fun and when one is not there, well there is something.....or someone missing.





Then there is the boyfriend!!!!! Yep, Ashley has been in a relationship for over a year now. They have talked
marriage, but want to wait a couple years! Yes, please wait! I am not ready for that yet! Right now she lives with us to save money for her future but we can't keep her forever.











 Brendan will be a Senior in the coming school year. He has already been talking about living here while he goes to the 2 year college in our area and then moving out and pursuing more school after that. I am so glad he is planning, but it is strange to hear. 

Cars!!! 
Graduations!!!!! 
Girlfriends/Boyfriends!!!!!! 
College!!!!!! 
Driving 3 hours to see boyfriend all by herself!!!!!! 

All indicators that the kids are growing up and beginning their own lives!
Don't get me wrong! I do think this is all great! I am proud of my kids! But who am I now? I had to ask myself that question. Who am I? Am I still a mom? Do they still need me? I need to start letting them go and figuring out who I am without them. Who am I when I don't have anyone but my hubby to cook for? Who am I when I only have to do a few loads of clothes a week instead of everyday? Who am I when I no longer hear them call me mommy? Ugh, I want to cry! No! This is what being a mom is all about!









So, I have pulled myself together and started to tackle this new life that is not so far away. 
How? 
My hubby and I have started doing more alone together. We need to figure out who we are as husband and

wife without kids hanging on us. 
We have also started talking about our future and what we would like to do when we have more time and money! It has been rather fun dreaming about it!


I still get sad at times, but I know that I will make it through this adjustment just as I did all the other adjustments in my life. My kids have been such an amazing part of it, but they are just a part. There is so much more I have put up on a shelf until I have more time. Well, it is time to take some of them down and dust them off. 
This might be fun! I get to know God, my husband, and me in a whole new way! I can do this!
Phillipians 4:13 says "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Amen!!

Video Gaming......yay or nay?

Video games......good or bad? Pros and cons? Yay or Nay? What a controversy! Ok so maybe not! I know of homes who don't have them. I know of homes that do have them but put a limit on them. And I know of homes who have them and have no limit. Whichever home you live in, video games are here and I think they are here to stay. There is such a huge market for them that our stores are busting at the seams with the games themselves and everything else they can sell with a photo or logo on it referencing gaming.

We have them in my home. We have an Xbox 360, a Wii, Nintendo Ds, Playstation 2 (I think), and Ipads.

Whew! That almost hurt trying to think of them all and I probably forgot something. But......we put a limit on playtime. I have set up a system that I feel works well. Here it is:

   *During the school year the kids are allowed 30 minutes a day of video game time. Friday and Sunday are free game days, so they can play unlimited games those days.

   *During the Summer or other times off from school they still get free play on Fridays and Sundays and their 30 minutes a day but they can also earn more time by either going outside and play or doing chores around the house. The time it takes to do a chore or play outside is the time they earn doing video games. This one can be tricky though. When I first came up with this idea, I thought maybe I had made a terrible mistake. My kids went outside for about 3 hours. I was so happy! They were actually playing outside, which I had come to think was a lost art. And then I realized oh no, what did I do? Now I have to let them play for 3 hours straight. Their brains are going to melt! Ok so a bit dramatic!
But on the other hand, I was not listening to "mom I'm bored" and they were actually going outside and playing. They were getting exercise and using their imaginations! Maybe it was worth it! I get what I want and they get what they want! I don't know if this is the best way to deal with it, but it works for us.


My 17 year old son and I had a conversation
this morning about this system. He feels he is too old to have to follow it. How could I compromise with him? How could we both get what we want out of this? We made a deal that if he spent some time outside with his siblings each day and did his chores like he should then I would let him determine his own video game time. When I stop and think about it, he doesn't spend all day playing like the younger ones do on their free days. So I guess I can cut him some slack! Plus I figure it won't be long before he will be on his own and there won't be much I can say. I better start loosening the grip now.


                                                                                   (Ok so the photo does not even come close to                                                                                                depicting me and my teenage son, but I thought it                                                                                                             was cute. LOL)

Video games I think have gotten a bad rap. I believe in moderation and like movies, I monitor what they are allowed to play. So, whether you are a gaming family or not, this is how my family deals with this one form of technology that is here to stay. Oh but there are so many others! We can talk about them later! Until then, happy gaming!