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!

Senior Photo Time!

I have been taking Senior photos like crazy lately. My laptop has become just that, the top of my lap. Lol. I love it though. I hope my family can say the same, because when I am working on photos, I am in a zone where I can't hear much of anything outside of my brain. I also haven't always been the friendliest mom lately. Remember my last post about the squished juice box? Yea, that would describe me. My family has been great at giving me time and space to do what I need to do to keep my clients happy. This time of the year is winding down and before long it will be Summer break and I will have more time to sit outside with a cup of coffee and enjoy my favorite time of the year.
Here are a few of the wonderful Seniors I have photographed!!!

Remembrance Photography and Me!!!

Today, I am making some new changes to my blog! I am excited about this new change. I have used this blog to share my photos, but I want to branch out and share more about me and my family. I want to share some tips, advice, and personal experiences I have being a wife, mom, photographer, etc. The list of jobs sometimes seem to grow. Lol!
This past week I have felt a little like this:

Photo by Duncecap-Dan

Do you know what I mean? Between taking photos, working as a lunch lady at the local school, and being a mom of 4 kids, I was empty! I felt like I was being squeezed and all the life sucked out of me. On Mother's Day, I was refilled with love from my amazing family, but then I noticed it only took a couple of days before I started to feel empty again. I spent some time praying about it and then it came to me. I am not the only mom who feels this way. I am not the only person who feels this way. I am not the only Christian who feels this way. So, I want to share some bits of wisdom given to me in my times with the Lord in hopes that it will help others. 

I would love to gain some followers here. The more the merrier! Please share with your friends and family that you feel would benefit from my tidbits. 

Enjoy and God bless all those squished juice boxes out there! May you be refilled!

Graduation Photos!

Around here, 8th grade graduation is a big deal. There is often a ceremony with formal attire and photos and the whole shabang. Is that how you spell it? Lol. Anyway, here is a sweet photo I took of an soon to be graduate of the 8th grade!

Sunrise in Texas!!!

We have gone to Texas for Spring Break a few times and each time we go we usually drive. We start out after kids get home from school and we get home from work and drive all night. We usually get there about noon the next day. On this drive, I couldn't pass up photos of the sunrise. It was beautiful! Check it out!!!

Beach Fun!

For Spring Break my family and I went to Texas. The beach is probably one of my most favorite places to be. It is so beautiful and relaxing! I feel so close to God when I am there. And of course I took lots of photos. Here is a few!

I have even more coming soon!!!